Now Reading: CBI charges 3 NTA experts with life term for NEET paper leak
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CBI charges 3 NTA experts with life term for NEET paper leak
The CBI has alleged that three National Testing Agency (NTA) subject experts breached their confidentiality pacts and leaked NEET-UG 2026 question papers, facing charges that could lead to life imprisonment and a…
The Story in Brief
The CBI has alleged that three National Testing Agency (NTA) subject experts breached their confidentiality pacts and leaked NEET-UG 2026 question papers, facing charges that could lead to life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1 crore. According to the charge sheet filed in a Delhi court, the experts, Manisha Gurunath Mandhare (biology), P V Kulkarni (chemistry), and Manisha Sanjay Havaldar (physics), had signed undertakings but allegedly circulated questions for money. The CBI treated them as public servants and invoked the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The NEET-UG exam held on May 3 was cancelled after the leak; a re-examination was conducted on June 21. Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned after nationwide protests. The charge sheet reveals that Kulkarni held special classes at his Pune apartment, Mandhare used students' textbooks to mark leaked questions, and Havaldar memorised and dictated physics questions. Nine students attended Kulkarni's classes, and money changed hands. The CBI has named 13 accused in total.
The Indian Opinion
The CBI's charge sheet makes individual greed plain, but the real story is a system that failed. The NTA reused the same experts across multiple stages, violating its own protocols. The convenient focus on three scapegoats must not let the agency off the hook. The question is not just who leaked the paper, but why a national exam is so easily compromised. The real test: will the NTA now enforce the round-the-clock security it just tendered for, or wait for the next leak?
Sources (3): timesofindia.indiatimes.com, timesofindia.indiatimes.com (2), hindustantimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources.
