Hospital in Latur under probe over NEET-UG chemistry paper leak

Investigators, The Indian Express has learned, are also examining whether one such session, held between April 21 and 23, was attended by RCC Classes founder Shivraj Motegaonkar’s son, who appeared for NEET this year and is suspected to have accessed the chemistry questions there. Sources said investigators are probing whether Motegaonkar got access to the chemistry paper through these hospital meetings. The CBI is also looking into whether portions of the material were later converted into handwritten PDFs and circulated as “guess papers” on several WhatsApp-linked mobile numbers before the May 3 examination. Sources familiar with the probe said investigators identified circulation of the handwritten PDF “guess paper” on more than 125 WhatsApp-linked mobile numbers before the examination.

Sources said the probe has so far found that 43 of the 45 chemistry questions in the final NEET-UG 2026 paper matched questions circulated earlier through RCC’s “guess paper”. Sources said the handwritten “guess paper” later matched 43 of the 45 exact chemistry questions appearing in the final NEET paper.

Investigators, it is learned, are not, at this stage, treating the case as a digital breach of the NTA system. Instead, they are probing whether Kulkarni may have memorised the chemistry paper during the confidential translation process and later distributed it offline for money. Sources said investigators are also probing whether Kulkarni had access to multiple chemistry paper sets during the confidential translation process before one final paper was selected for the examination.

Investigators believe this alleged memorisation-and-distribution route could explain how exact questions surfaced before the examination, even as they continue to examine how the paper may have travelled from the source to Kulkarni and whether any digital trail exists.

Investigators are now probing the circulation trail of the material and examining how many students may have eventually received it before the examination. Investigators believe the alleged circulation chain involved offline meetings, handwritten notes and later PDF and WhatsApp circulation through coaching and personal-contact networks in Maharashtra.

The doctor remains under the scanner for his alleged role in facilitating the meetings and connecting Kulkarni to parents seeking access to the questions for their children appearing for NEET, sources said. According to the statement of the doctor reviewed by The Indian Express, at least two such sessions were allegedly held at the hospital premises between April 21 and 23, nearly two weeks before the examination.

Sources said investigators are also examining allegations that several parents of NEET aspirants, including doctors and acquaintances known to the doctor, paid between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 5 lakh for access to the chemistry questions before the examination. Sources said the material was allegedly circulated as a highly reliable “guess paper”, a format commonly trusted among NEET aspirants.

The agency is examining WhatsApp chats, call records and financial transactions to trace the alleged distribution network and money trail behind the suspected paper leak.

NTA conducted NEET-UG on May 3, with over 2.27 million candidates appearing for a 180-question pen-and-paper examination comprising 45 questions each from Physics and Chemistry and 90 from Biology. While no complaints were received specifically regarding the Physics section, the agency cancelled the examination on May 12 after finding that at least 120 questions in the leaked material overlapped with the actual test paper. A re-examination is scheduled for June 21.

So far, the agency has arrested 11 people from Delhi, Jaipur, Gurugram, Nashik, Pune, Latur and Ahilyanagar in connection with the alleged leak. Those arrested include Pune-based teacher Manisha Sanjay Havaldar, whom investigators have identified as a key suspect in the leak of the Physics paper, along with two subject experts linked to the Chemistry and Biology sections of the cancelled May 3 examination.