The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has alleged that Latur-based coaching centre owner Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar paid Rs 5 lakh to obtain leaked chemistry questions for the NEET-UG 2026 examination. Motegaonkar, founder of Renukai Career Centre (RCC) Coaching Institute in Latur, was arrested as part of the agency’s investigation into the alleged paper leak case.
In its response to a bail application filed by Motegaonkar before a special court, the CBI claimed that he allegedly procured the leaked chemistry questions before the examination in conspiracy with other accused persons, according to PTI.
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The agency alleged that the questions were obtained from P V Kulkarni, a chemistry lecturer who was part of the National Testing Agency (NTA) panel involved in setting the NEET-UG question paper.
The CBI further alleged that Motegaonkar’s son attended chemistry classes conducted by Kulkarni, where the questions were allegedly provided. According to the agency, Motegaonkar prepared handwritten notes based on the questions received during these classes.
During searches at Motegaonkar’s residence and coaching institute, the CBI said it recovered incriminating material, including chemistry question notes from his mobile phone. The agency claimed that 36 images, including five duplicate images, containing 132 handwritten chemistry questions were found on the device. Of these, 111 questions allegedly matched those in the NTA’s master question sets prepared for NEET-UG 2026.
The CBI said metadata analysis indicated that the images of the handwritten questions were created around 10 days before the May 3 examination. The agency also claimed that the money allegedly paid for obtaining the leaked questions was recovered at the instance of another accused, Manoj Bhagwanrao Shirure.
The investigation has widened into an alleged network involving examination insiders, subject experts, coaching operators and intermediaries. The CBI has arrested 13 people in connection with the case, all of whom are currently in judicial custody, reported PTI.
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The controversy led the NTA to cancel the NEET-UG examination held on May 3 amid allegations of a paper leak. A re-examination was later conducted on June 21 for affected candidates. The CBI investigation into the alleged leak, financial transactions and roles of other accused persons is ongoing.
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