The CBI investigation into the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak has detailed how National Testing Agency chemistry expert Pralhad Vithalrao Kulkarni allegedly dictated 132 questions and answers to the son of a key accused coaching centre owner during special classes held at a hospital in Latur.
According to the agency’s chargesheet, the 18-year-old son of Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar, proprietor of Renukai Career Coaching Institute in Latur, told investigators that he attended revision sessions conducted by Kulkarni in a deluxe room on the third floor of Siddhivinayak Hospital. The classes took place on April 18, 19 and 22, weeks before the original May 3 examination that was later cancelled.
The youth stated that around April 15 his father asked him to visit the hospital to meet a chemistry teacher. When he questioned why he needed another teacher when the family already ran a coaching centre, Motegaonkar reportedly told him the teacher was a NEET expert who would provide important questions. On each of the three days, Kulkarni dictated questions and answers for about 1.5 to 2 hours, which the student wrote in his own notebook. Across the sessions he noted down 132 chemistry questions with their answers.
The hospital is run by Manoj Bhagwanrao Shirure, who has also been arrested in the case. The youth identified both Kulkarni and Shirure, and said the receptionist directed him to the third floor on the first day. He claimed he returned on April 20 but Kulkarni did not arrive, and skipped April 21 due to illness before attending the final session on April 22.
After the classes, his father would check the notebook. The youth told the CBI that Motegaonkar was not fully convinced about the questions, so he did not memorise them. He scored 117 out of 180 in chemistry and later said that if he had trusted the list he could have scored full marks. When asked about the notebook, he stated that after the examination he sold his notebooks to a scrap dealer.
The CBI also recorded the statement of the hospital receptionist, who said no visitor entry records were maintained, only patient records. The chargesheet, filed on July 28 before a Delhi court, names 13 accused and lists 360 witnesses. Motegaonkar, Kulkarni and Shirure are among those charged in connection with the leak that led to the cancellation of the original NEET-UG examination and widespread protests.
The revelation adds further detail to how questions allegedly moved from the NTA’s confidential process into private coaching channels, with the son of a coaching centre owner receiving a substantial portion of the chemistry paper in advance.
