The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has alleged that a Latur-based coaching institute owner paid ₹5 lakh to procure confidential Chemistry questions for the NEET UG 2026 examination from a member of the National Testing Agency's (NTA) question-setting panel.
The allegations were made before a Delhi special court while the CBI opposed the bail applications of the accused in the NEET UG 2026 paper leak case. According to the agency, 111 of 136 handwritten Chemistry questions recovered during the investigation matched the official NEET UG 2026 master question sets, which it argued indicates that confidential examination material was accessed before the May 3 examination.
According to the CBI, Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar, owner of a coaching institute in Latur, Maharashtra, conspired with others to obtain confidential Chemistry questions before the NEET UG 2026 examination.
The agency alleged that Motegaonkar paid ₹5 lakh to P.V. Kulkarni, who was associated with the NTA as a member of its question-setting panel and also served as a translator for the examination.
The CBI further told the court that Motegaonkar's son attended Kulkarni's chemistry coaching classes and that Motegaonkar allegedly prepared handwritten notes based on the questions he received before the examination.
During the bail hearing, the CBI informed the court that investigators recovered 136 handwritten Chemistry questions from Motegaonkar's mobile phone.
According to the agency:
The questions were stored across 31 images recovered from the mobile phone.
111 of the 136 handwritten questions matched the official NEET UG 2026 master question sets prepared by the NTA.
The matching questions formed a significant part of the evidence relied upon by the CBI while opposing bail.
The agency argued that the recovery supports its allegation that confidential examination material had been accessed before the examination.
The CBI alleged that the confidential Chemistry questions were accessed on April 23, around ten days before the May 3 NEET UG 2026 examination.
According to the agency, the exchange took place at Siddhivinayak Hospital in Latur, which is run by paediatrician Dr. Manoj Bhagwanrao Shirure, another accused in the case.
The CBI alleged that Kulkarni reached Motegaonkar through Shirure and that the confidential questions were provided in exchange for ₹5 lakh.
While opposing the bail plea of Dr. Manoj Bhagwanrao Shirure before Special Judge Ajay Gupta, the CBI alleged that the paediatrician played a key role in facilitating access to the leaked Chemistry paper.
According to the agency:
Shirure allegedly accepted ₹5 lakh from a candidate's family.
The candidate was allegedly given access to the Chemistry paper before the examination at Shirure's hospital.
During the investigation, the CBI recovered the alleged ₹5 lakh from the residence of Shirure's sister.
The agency argued that the evidence collected so far does not justify granting bail.
The CBI also informed the court that Shirure allegedly introduced two other doctors to co-accused Kulkarni.
According to the agency, the children of those doctors also allegedly obtained access to the confidential Chemistry paper after paying ₹3 lakh each.
The CBI presented these allegations while arguing that the nature of the offence and the evidence collected warranted rejection of the bail applications.
The investigation into the alleged NEET UG 2026 paper leak is ongoing. The CBI is examining the alleged chain through which confidential examination material was obtained from an NTA paper setter and circulated before the examination.
The allegations were presented by the CBI while opposing the accused's bail applications before the Delhi special court. The court was hearing the bail pleas and has not ruled on the merits of the allegations.
(Rh/ARC/MSM)