NEET paper leak: CBI files supplementary charge sheet naming Nanded resident

The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a supplementary charge sheet in the NEET-UG paper leak case, naming a resident of Maharashtra's Nanded district as an accused and submitting forensic evidence that formally draws the agency's investigation to a close.

The document was placed before Special Judge Ajay Gupta at a designated fast-track court in Delhi. The court directed that a copy of the charge sheet be supplied to counsel for the accused, Sheshrav Bajrang Suryawanshi, also known as Raj Suryawanshi, ahead of further proceedings.

Suryawanshi, arrested on 2 September, is the 14th person charged by the agency. Investigators describe him as a close associate of Shubham Khairnar, who was arrested in Nashik on 13 May during the initial phase of the crackdown. According to the submission, Suryawanshi gathered candidates at a designated spot in Nanded, supplied them with the leaked questions, and seized their original academic certificates and identity cards as collateral to ensure payment after the test.

Investigation finds no government complicity

The submission marks the completion of an intensive, multi-state operation that systematically dismantled an external commercial racket. A key outcome of the inquiry is that neither the initial charge sheet submitted on 28 July nor the supplementary filing names any government employee or official from the National Testing Agency.

Instead, investigators found that the leak was executed entirely by private actors, including three subject experts hired on contract, coaching academy operators, and inter-state middlemen operating across Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Haryana.

Digital forensics track syndicate trail

The final report details extensive digital forensics conducted on seized mobile handsets and computers. Technical teams recovered deleted WhatsApp correspondence and PDF documents containing questions that matched the May examination paper.

The paper trail began on 13 May with arrests in Rajasthan, where investigators recovered leaked question papers sent via Telegram on 29 April. That same day, officers apprehended Yash Yadav in Gurugram, Khairnar in Nashik, and Dhananjay Lokhande in Pune, who had attempted to destroy his handset before being detained.

Subsequent arrests targeted the network's key planners, including Manisha Sanjay Waghmare, whom the agency identified as a vital conduit linking candidate handlers with subject experts. Mastermind P V Kulkarni was arrested in Latur on 15 May, alongside coaching centre founder Shivraj Motegaonkar on 17 May, before further detentions across Pune and Latur later that month.

With both reports now before the court, judicial proceedings against all 14 accused will proceed under the framework established for exam malpractices, reinforcing regulatory safeguards across national testing procedures.