New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), probing the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case, informed a special court that it is investigating a larger conspiracy involving officials of the National Testing Agency (NTA) and other departments, while tracing the digital and financial network linked to the leak.
A Special CBI Court on May 14 remanded five accused — Mangilal Biwal, Vikas Biwal, Dinesh Biwal, Yash Yadav and Shubham Khairnar — to seven days of CBI custody.
Seeking police custody of the accused, the CBI submitted before the court that custodial interrogation was required to identify officials of the NTA and other departments allegedly involved in the leakage of the NEET-UG 2026 question paper before the examination.
According to the agency, accused Shubham Khairnar of Nashik in Maharashtra allegedly obtained the leaked NEET question paper on April 28, 2026, from a person in Pune, who had sourced it through an NTA contact.
The CBI alleged that Shubham entered into a deal to purchase the leaked paper and distribute it for monetary gain.
“It is alleged that Shubham obtained the paper on April 28, 2026, from another person in Pune, who obtained the same from his alleged NTA source,” the CBI submitted.
The agency further alleged that Shubham struck a deal worth Rs 15 lakh with accused Yash Yadav for the leaked paper.
According to the CBI, WhatsApp chats between Yash Yadav and Shubham were recovered from Yash Yadav’s mobile phone, while Shubham had allegedly deleted incriminating material from his device.
“Though Shubham intentionally deleted incriminating material, his mobile phone has been seized for forensic examination,” the agency told the court.
The investigation has also revealed the alleged use of Telegram to circulate the leaked question paper in PDF format.
As per the CBI, it has come to light that Shubham Khairnar facilitated the accused Yash Yadav for the distribution of the leaked NEET (UG) 2026 question paper and the accused Yash Yadav allegedly received PDF files of the NEET question papers for Physics, Chemistry and Biology through Telegram on April 29, 2026. The agency said the leaked files have already been recovered.
The CBI further alleged that after receiving the leaked paper, Yash Yadav struck a deal with accused Mangilal Khatik for the consideration of Rs 10 lakh and shared the paper with him via Telegram.
According to investigators, Mangilal allegedly circulated printed copies of the leaked paper to a friend of his son Vikas Biwal, besides sharing them with another son and a cousin. The CBI alleged that Mangilal also obtained answers to the leaked question paper from a teacher in exchange for money.
The agency told the court that leaked question papers and other incriminating material had been recovered from mobile phones seized during the investigation.
The CBI further submitted that statements of Amit Kumar Meena and Satyanarayan Chaudhary had been recorded regarding the alleged involvement of accused Dinesh Biwal, whose mobile phone has also been seized for forensic examination.
According to investigators, accused Vikas Biwal, son of accused Mangilal, had allegedly come in contact with Yash Yadav during coaching classes in Rajasthan’s Sikar district.
The CBI said custodial interrogation of the accused was required to analyse digital devices, communication records and the financial trail connected to the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak network.
Further investigation into the matter is underway. (ANI)
