A Latur-based coaching centre owner allegedly paid Rs 5 lakh to obtain leaked chemistry questions for NEET-UG 2026 from an individual involved in setting the examination paper, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has told a special court.

According to the CBI, Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar paid the money to co-accused P V Kulkarni, who was on the National Testing Agency’s (NTA) panel responsible for preparing the examination questions. The agency alleged that Motegaonkar’s son attended Kulkarni’s coaching classes, where the questions were shared.

In its reply to Motegaonkar’s bail application, the CBI said he conspired with other accused to procure the leaked chemistry questions before the examination and prepared handwritten notes based on them.

The agency said it recovered Motegaonkar’s mobile phone, which contained 36 images, including five duplicates, featuring 132 handwritten chemistry questions. It alleged that 111 of these matched questions in the NTA’s master question sets for NEET-UG 2026.

The CBI further stated that metadata analysis showed the images were captured around 10 days before the May 3 examination. It also said the handwritten notes were allegedly in Motegaonkar’s handwriting.

According to the agency, the Rs 5 lakh allegedly paid for the leaked questions was recovered at the instance of co-accused Manoj Bhagwanrao Shirure.

The CBI has arrested 13 people in connection with the case, all of whom are currently in judicial custody.

The NTA cancelled the NEET-UG 2026 examination held on May 3 following allegations of a paper leak. A fresh examination was conducted on June 21.

Inputs from PTI

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