Pune school principal arrested in NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case over alleged question sharing

Pune: Manisha Sanjay Havaldar, principal of a Pune school arrested in connection with the NEET-UG paper leak case, allegedly shared examination-related questions and content with a few students for money, the CBI told a court here, sources said on Sunday. The federal agency made the submission while seeking her transit remand, they said. The Central Bureau of Intelligence (CBI) arrested Havaldar on Friday, calling her another source of the alleged paper leak.

Havaldar, the principal of Seth Hiralal Saraf Prashala, worked as an empanelled translator for Physics for NEET UG-2026. Following her arrest, she was produced before a court in Pune and is currently in transit remand. She is likely to be produced in a court in Delhi on Monday. The CBI informed the Pune court that its investigation into the case had revealed that Havaldar, in collusion with botany teacher Manisha Mandhare, now in custody, allegedly shared NEET-related questions and content with a few students in exchange for monetary benefits.

Sources said the CBI told the court that handwritten notes containing NEET-related questions were prepared and retained by Havaldar during her NTA (National Testing Agency) assignment. The confidential material was allegedly used to convey examination-related content to some students before the NEET UG-2026 exam through WhatsApp and printouts.

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Sources said Havaldar admitted to sharing Physics questions from NEET UG-2026, which she had translated or reverse-translated, with one student and with Manisha Mandhare, a botany lecturer from Modern College of Arts and Science in Pune. The probe found that Havaldar allegedly received Rs 20,000 from one student and Rs 25,000 from another person, CBI told the court, according to the sources.

Havaldar allegedly deleted all her chats with Mandhare and burnt the notes containing the Physics question bank, they added. The NEET (UG) 2026 exam for admission to undergraduate courses in medical colleges, held on May 3, was cancelled later amid allegations of paper leak. The government has asked the CBI to carry out a comprehensive inquiry into the "irregularities". The CBI has so far arrested 10 accused in the case.