New Delhi: The CBI has flagged several security lapses in the preparation of the NEET-UG 2026 question paper, including lack of frisking and checking in the National Testing Agency's (NTA) confidential section, inadequate CCTV monitoring and involvement of the same set of experts in multiple stages of paper finalisation.

In its 94-page chargesheet filed before a special court, the agency said the absence of proper compartmentalisation in the NTA's workflow allowed individuals to gain access to complete final question papers of the medical entrance examination.

The CBI said the paper preparation process involved four key stages — item writing, moderation, vetting and translation — which ideally should have been handled by separate experts to prevent any individual from accessing the complete examination material.

However, the investigation found that several experts were involved in multiple stages, giving them access to the final question sets. The agency said the risk was particularly high during translation and back-translation, where a single expert could view all four final master sets.

The CBI also highlighted security shortcomings in the NTA's "confidential section" located at the NSIC building in Okhla, where NEET question papers were prepared. It alleged that there was no system of frisking or checking experts entering or leaving the confidential area.

The agency claimed that this lapse enabled chemistry expert P V Kulkarni to allegedly transcribe 135 questions onto small slips of paper and take them to his hotel room unnoticed while working on the paper preparation process.

The CBI has alleged that three subject experts — Kulkarni (Chemistry), Manisha Gurunath Mandhare (Zoology and Botany) and Manisha Sanjay Havaldar (Physics) — exploited weaknesses in the system and recreated the question paper, which was allegedly shared with selected students for monetary gains.

The agency also pointed out that the NTA did not have a dedicated live-feed monitoring control room for the confidential wing and maintained CCTV recordings only for 20-25 days. As the confidential work was completed on April 7 and the case was registered on May 12, relevant footage was unavailable for investigation.

The NEET-UG paper leak controversy affected nearly 23 lakh aspirants and led to cancellation of the May 3 examination, followed by a re-examination on June 21. The issue also triggered political protests and the resignation of then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
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