Marking its tenth arrest in the NEET-UG paper leak case, the CBI has taken into custody Shivraj Motegaonkar, founder of Latur-based RCC Classes, alleging that he received the leaked question papers and answers as early as April 23 — 10 days before the May 3 exam, placing one of Maharashtra’s best-known coaching figures at the centre of the case.
Motegaonkar was arrested on Sunday, the same day a CBI team searched the premises of RCC Classes in Latur, after being questioned by the agency for the second time in a week. On Monday, he was remanded in CBI custody for nine days.
In its remand application filed in a Delhi court, the CBI said the leaked questions were allegedly found on Motegaonkar’s phone. “He distributed copies of the leaked papers and answer sheets to multiple persons. There is a video where he is seen in his coaching centre saying that the questions which he gave to the students were there in the final question paper. His links with co-accused Prahlad Kulkarni are under investigation,” the agency told the court.
Opposing the application, counsel for the accused said the allegation that he was in possession of an actual question paper was false, and that he merely had questions used by his students for mock tests. “The accused has been in the field of teaching for about 27 years and had sufficient data of questions,” the counsel said.
The CBI, however, alleged that Motegaonkar was an “active member” of an organised network involved in leaking and circulating NEET-UG 2026 question papers before the examination. He allegedly conspired with public servants associated with the National Testing Agency (NTA) and other accused to obtain the leaked papers and answers, supplied handwritten copies to several persons, and later destroyed evidence, the agency said.
The CBI is learnt to be examining a set of 42 chemistry questions the institute circulated before the examination as “guess questions”, after alleged similarities were found between those and portions of the leaked NEET paper.
Also Read | NTA flags list of paper setters and translators on its radar to CBI
Story continues below this ad
According to the CBI, Motegaonkar was allegedly a close friend of Kulkarni, the retired teacher who was “associated with NTA” and arrested from Pune last week. “Searches conducted at his (Motegaonkar’s) institute and residence resulted in the recovery of a chemistry question bank, which contained exactly the same questions that appeared in the NEET exam held on May 3,” a CBI spokesperson said.
NEET UG 2026 Paper Leak | Guess paper questions in May 3 exam | Anatomy of a NEET leak | UG exam on June 21 | Edu Min conference | Rajasthan family link up with case | What aspirants want | Exam online from 2027
The agency has identified Kulkarni as the alleged “source” of the paper leaks. Sources in Latur’s coaching circles said Kulkarni had also briefly taught at RCC in the past.
The CBI is also learnt to have questioned NTA officials and recorded their statements on Monday. “We are questioning them to understand the procedure and the role of all officials of NTA,” sources said.
Story continues below this ad
Motegaonkar’s arrest is the latest in a widening probe that has already led to nine persons being held from Delhi, Jaipur, Gurugram, Nashik, Pune, Latur and Ahmednagar. The CBI said it conducted searches at five locations over the past 24 hours, seizing documents, laptops and mobile phones.
Motegaonkar belongs to a farming family in Latur. According to his coaching centre’s website, he completed an MSc in Chemistry and began teaching the subject to students preparing for board and entrance exams. In his early years, local residents said, he travelled by bicycle giving home tuitions. Around 1999, he started his own coaching class from rented premises with 10 students, teaching in small batches with handwritten notes.
“I was in his 2001 batch. At that time, there were only around 40 students in Latur. Now there are over 15,000 students in Latur itself,” said one of his oldest students.
Over two decades, RCC (Renukai Career Centre) grew into one of Maharashtra’s biggest coaching brands for NEET, JEE and CET preparation. It now operates centres in Latur, Pune, Nashik, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nanded, Solapur, Kolhapur and Akola, with around 40,000 students enrolling annually. Fees range between Rs 50,000 and Rs 65,000 per student. Widely known as “M Sir” in coaching circles, Motegaonkar has been described by former students as “a guru”.
Story continues below this ad
On Sunday, police were deployed outside RCC’s Latur base while CBI officers moved in and out carrying files and electronic devices. A CBI team simultaneously searched premises linked to Motegaonkar in Pune, and questioned him. “We were not told anything beforehand,” a staff member at the institute said.
Searches at Motegaonkar’s residence in Latur’s Shivaji Nagar area on May 14 allegedly found the leaked questions on his mobile phone, which was seized for forensic examination. The CBI further alleged that handwritten copies of leaked questions and answers were supplied to several people, and that Motegaonkar destroyed these papers after the exam. He has been booked under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.
The CBI also detailed its charges against some of the other accused before the Delhi court: Dhananjay Lokhande; Manisha Waghmare, a Pune beautician; Shubham Khairnar, who ran a counselling business in Nashik; Yash Yadav from Gurgaon; and Mangilal Biwal and his associates from Rajasthan.
According to the agency, Lokhande obtained the NEET-UG 2026 question paper from co-accused Waghmare and transmitted it to Khairnar. On April 29, Yadav allegedly received PDF files of the leaked paper from Khairnar via Telegram.
Story continues below this ad
Probing another strand linked to Pune, the CBI told the court that Kulkarni, a subject expert involved in setting the paper, allegedly supplied questions to certain persons through Waghmare. They allegedly conspired with Manisha Mandhare, an NTA question-setting panel expert tagged as a key mastermind who leaked the final question sets to select students for substantial payments.
“We have found some evidence related to the financial aspect of the leak from Mandhare’s residence after conducting a fresh search,” sources said.
In Rajasthan, the CBI told the court, Mangilal allegedly received the leaked paper from Yadav for Rs 10 lakh on the condition that around 150 questions would match the original. He allegedly received the papers on Telegram on April 29 and distributed printed copies to his sons Aman and Vikas, cousin Rishi, and others, including a teacher named Satyanarayan.
Mangilal’s son Vikas allegedly told investigators that he came in touch with Yadav during NEET coaching in Sikar. Yadav allegedly offered leaked papers for money and asked Vikas to recruit more candidates, according to the CBI.
