New Delhi, September 5, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
A Delhi court on Saturday sent Sheshrao Bajrang Suryavanshi, the 14th accused arrested by the CBI in the NEET-UG 2026 question paper leak case, to 14 days of judicial custody, a lawyer said.
Suryavanshi was produced before the specially designated Fast Track Court at the Rouse Avenue Courts Complex after the expiry of his three-day CBI custody. The agency had arrested him on Wednesday.
The CBI had told the court that Suryavanshi was allegedly linked to Shubham Khairnar, a career counsellor arrested in Nashik on May 12 for allegedly circulating the leaked question paper on social media.
The court last month took cognisance of the CBI’s charge sheet against 13 accused in the case. It also allowed the agency to expand its investigation and gather evidence against additional suspects whose possible involvement emerged from a Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) report.
The court has been specially designated to deal with offences under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, and connected cases. The development allows the CBI to investigate the activities of additional suspects in the period preceding the now-cancelled May 3 NEET-UG examination.
In its application, the CBI said its investigation into the 13 charge-sheeted accused had been completed, while the alleged involvement of other suspects still needed to be examined.
The agency filed its charge sheet against the 13 arrested accused on July 28, alleging that confidential NEET-UG question papers were leaked before the May 3 examination through a network involving NTA subject experts, intermediaries, coaching operators and others.
According to the charge sheet, three NTA subject experts assigned to translate, back-translate and proofread examination papers allegedly exploited security lapses to remove confidential questions from the NTA office in Delhi.
The CBI alleged that accused P.V. Kulkarni wrote down all 135 Chemistry questions and their answer options on small slips of paper and concealed them while leaving the confidential section. It said experts were not routinely checked or frisked when entering or leaving the section.
The agency further alleged that Manisha Gurunath Mandhare used her familiarity with NCERT textbooks to reconstruct questions after returning to her hotel, while Manisha Sanjay Havaldar allegedly made brief notes of Physics questions after returning to her accommodation.
The CBI also cited shortcomings in CCTV surveillance at the NTA office, saying only 20-25 days of footage was retained and that there was no dedicated live-feed monitoring room for the confidential section.
The agency has cited 360 witnesses, 422 documents and 43 material objects in support of its case.
The 13 accused were charge-sheeted under Sections 315(5), 318(4), 61(2), 238 and 303(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, along with provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024. The CBI registered the case on May 12.
FOLLOW NOW
