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.
Published: July 16, 2026, 7:30 AM IST
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NEET-UG candidates exit an examination centre after appearing for the Re-NEET UG 2026 exam, in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (PTI Photo)
The NEET UG 2026 examination, held on May 3, was cancelled amid a question paper leak and irregularities. Meanwhile, Latur-based coaching centre owner Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar, arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (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.
Who is the NTA paper-setter named in the NEET UG 2026 paper leak case?
According to the agency, 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”, news agency PTI reported.
What role did the coaching classes allegedly play in the NEET UG 2026 paper leak?
Furthermore, the agency stated that notes were made by Motegaonkar in handwriting based on the questions given in the chemistry coaching by Kulkarni. 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.
The inquiry has revealed 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.
How many people have been arrested so far in the NEET UG 2026 paper leak investigation?
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. NEET UG will be conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA), as a common and uniform National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test [(NEET (UG)] for admission to undergraduate medical education in all medical institutions. Similarly, as per Section 14 of the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Act, 2020, there shall be a uniform NEET (UG) for admission to undergraduate courses in each of the disciplines i.e. BAMS, BUMS, and BSMS courses of the Indian System of Medicine in all Medical Institutions governed under this Act. NEET (UG) shall also be applicable to admission to BHMS course as per National Commission for Homeopathy Act, 2020. The languages in which the NEET (UG) 2026[…]
