CBI arrests student who received physics questions from Pune school headmistress in NEET-UG paper leak case

PUNE: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday evening arrested a student, who allegedly received physics questions from Pune school headmistress Manisha Havaldar, in connection with the NEET-UG question paper leak case. With this, the total number of people arrested in the case has risen to 12.

The student, whose phone number was reportedly saved as “God” by other accused in the case, was produced before special CBI judge RR Mende later in the night. The court granted his transit remand, allowing CBI to take him to Delhi for further investigation, special public prosecutor Abhayraj Arikar said.

According to CBI, Pune school headmistress Havaldar, who was arrested on May 22 and subsequently suspended by the institution, had orally shared NEET exam questions with the student. He allegedly wrote these questions on paper, photographed them and forwarded the images to Havaldar’s husband. The handwritten document was later destroyed.

During earlier proceedings, the agency had informed the court that several accused had saved the student’s phone number under the name “god.” Investigators said Havaldar had received money from the student.

CBI has recovered 23 pages of handwritten physics questions, original NEET question papers, official certificates issued by the National Testing Agency (NTA) and cash during the probe. According to the agency, Havaldar admitted that in April she reconstructed physics questions from memory and shared them with a student. She initially claimed the questions were provided on instructions from an NTA chemistry expert. Later, at the request of coaccused Manisha Mandhare, the same questions were circulated via a messaging app.

The investigators said Havaldar also told them that she used both her own cellphone and her husband’s to share the material. The CBI officials told the court that the questions recounted by Havaldar closely matched those that appeared in the actual NEET examination.

Earlier, PV Kulkarni, a chemistry lecturer associated with NTA as part of the panel that set the question paper for NEET-UG; Manisha Waghmare, a beauty parlour owner; and Dhananjay, who ran a consultancy firm, were arrested from Pune, among others from different parts of the state, including Latur and Nashik, and the country.