Crime
P V Kulkarni and Manisha Waghmare Sent to CBI Custody
A special court in Delhi has remanded alleged NEET paper leak mastermind P V Kulkarni and co-accused Manisha Waghmare to 10 days of Central Bureau of Investigation custody for further interrogation into the larger examination leak conspiracy.
A special court in New Delhi on Saturday sent P V Kulkarni and Manisha Waghmare to 10 days of custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak investigation.
Special CBI Judge Ajay Gupta passed the order after the agency argued that the accused needed to be taken outside Delhi for further investigation and that a broader conspiracy related to the leak was yet to be uncovered.
During the hearing, Special Public Prosecutor Neetu Gupta sought a 14-day custodial remand for the two accused, stating that detailed interrogation was necessary.
The CBI informed the court that Kulkarni was a subject expert associated with preparing the NEET-UG 2026 examination paper and had access to confidential question papers through his role linked to the National Testing Agency (NTA).
Investigators further alleged that co-accused Dhananjay Lokhande had collected leaked examination material from Manisha Waghmare.
After hearing arguments from both the investigation agency and defence counsel, the court granted 10 days of CBI custody for continued interrogation and investigation.
The NEET-UG 2026 examination was cancelled following allegations of widespread irregularities and paper leaks. The CBI has since launched a nationwide investigation, carrying out arrests and searches across multiple cities to identify the full network involved in the alleged malpractice.
