Delhi Court Sends NEET Paper Leak Prime Suspect, Co-Accused to 10-Day CBI Custody

May 16, 2026 : A Delhi court on Saturday remanded the prime suspect in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case, P V Kulkarni, along with co-accused Manisha Waghmare, to 10 days of CBI custody for further investigation into the alleged examination scam.

Special CBI Judge Ajay Gupta passed the order after the Central Bureau of Investigation submitted that both accused needed to be taken outside Delhi for further probe and that the agency was investigating a wider conspiracy linked to the leak of the medical entrance examination paper.

Appearing for the CBI, Special Public Prosecutor Neetu Gupta sought 14 days of custody, arguing that custodial interrogation was necessary to uncover the full extent of the network involved in the case.

During the hearing, the CBI informed the court that Kulkarni, a Chemistry lecturer, was associated with the preparation process of the 2026 NEET-UG question paper on behalf of the National Testing Agency (NTA) and had access to confidential examination material.

The agency further alleged that co-accused Dhananjay Lokhande had obtained the leaked question paper material from Manisha Waghmare.

After considering the submissions made by both the prosecution and the defence, the court granted 10 days of CBI custody to the two accused.

According to the CBI, the investigation is focused on identifying other individuals involved in the alleged paper leak racket and tracing the flow of leaked examination material.