NEET 2026 Paper Leak: Latur coaching owner paid Rs 5 lakh to procure questions from NTA paper-setter, says CBI

NEW DELHI: Latur-based coaching centre owner Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar, arrested by the CBI in the NEET paper leak case, had allegedly paid Rs 5 lakh to procure chemistry questions from P V Kulkarni, who was on the National Testing Agency (NTA) panel that set the questions for the examination, the central agency told a special court on Wednesday. The agency alleged that Motegaonkar's son attended the coaching classes of Kulkarni where the questions were provided.

In its response to a bail application filed by Motegaonkar, the agency alleged that he, "in conspiracy with the co-accused, procured NEET (UG) leaked chemistry questions prior to exam, and paid Rs 5 lakh for the same".

The agency said Motegaonkar prepared handwritten notes from the questions provided in Kulkarni's chemistry tutorial classes.

132 handwritten chemistry questions found

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has recovered Motegaonkar's phone in which 36 images (five duplicate images) containing 132 handwritten questions of chemistry were found, the agency said. It has found that 111 of these questions allegedly match with the questions in the NTA's master question sets prepared for NEET (UG) 2026, the CBI said in its response.

These were purportedly in the handwriting of Motegaonkar, it claimed, adding that metadata analysis has showed that these pictures were taken nearly 10 days before the May 3 NEET (UG) examination.

"Incriminating notes of chemistry questions relating to NEET UG 2026, allegedly in the handwriting of ...Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar was recovered from his mobile phone. The money allegedly paid for sourcing the leaked questions was recovered by CBI at the instance of co-accused Manoj Bhagwanrao Shirure," the agency said.

The agency has arrested 13 persons in the case, all of whom are in judicial custody. On May 12, the NTA cancelled the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate), or NEET-UG, held on May 3 for medical admissions amid allegations of paper leak. A re-exam was then held on June 21.