Summary of this article
The probe intensified after a parent alleged that 42 questions in a mock test conducted by a private coaching institute matched those in the cancelled NEET exam held on May 3.
The agency has already detained retired chemistry professor P V Kulkarni and three others from Maharashtra.
Local police have questioned coaching staff, students, and counsellors and seized CCTV footage from two centres.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the alleged NEET (UG) paper leak, on Friday questioned the director of a prominent coaching centre in Maharashtra’s Latur city, officials said.
A CBI team visited the residence of Shivraj Motegaonkar, director of Renukai Chemistry Classes (RCC), located in Omkar Residency in the Shivnagar area, on Thursday night and again early Friday morning as part of its inquiry into the paper leak case.
The CBI team currently stationed in Latur comprises 28 members.
When media personnel approached a CBI officer outside Motegaonkar’s residence around 12:30 pm and sought details about the investigation, the officer declined to comment.
The CBI arrived in Latur on Wednesday and detained P V Kulkarni, a retired chemistry faculty member from a local college, in connection with the paper leak probe.
Officials said Kulkarni retired from a reputed college four years ago and had been a member of the NEET paper-setting committee for chemistry.
The NEET (UG) 2026 examination for admission to undergraduate medical courses, conducted on May 3, was cancelled on May 12 following allegations of a paper leak. The government subsequently handed over the investigation to the CBI.
A student's parent had filed a complaint at the Superintendent of Police’s office in Latur on Tuesday, alleging that 42 questions in a mock test conducted by a private coaching institute in the city were identical to those that appeared in the NEET examination.
Acting on the complaint, Superintendent of Police Amol Tambe directed Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Sameersinh Salve to conduct an inquiry into the matter.
Police have also questioned six individuals, including coaching institute staff, students, and counsellors, in connection with the case. In addition, CCTV footage from two coaching centres has been seized.
Before Kulkarni’s detention in Latur, the CBI had detained three individuals from different parts of Maharashtra — Shubham Khairnar (30) from Nashik, beautician Manisha Waghmare from Pune, and Dhananjay Lokhande (26) from Rahuri in Ahilyanagar — in connection with the case.
(with PTI inputs)
