LATUR, May 18 : Maharashtra’s competitive examination coaching network has come under intense scrutiny after the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak investigation widened across multiple centres in the state, with the Central Bureau of Investigation tracing alleged links through Latur, Pune, Nashik and other locations.
Investigators believe Maharashtra may have functioned as a major operational hub in the suspected paper leak chain, with coaching institutes, intermediaries and aspirants now under the scanner as agencies probe how confidential examination material was allegedly circulated ahead of the national medical entrance test held on May 3.
The probe took a major turn on May 18 after the CBI arrested Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar, founder and director of Renukai Chemistry Classes (RCC) in Latur, alleging that he was an active member of an organised gang involved in obtaining and circulating the leaked NEET paper and answer key.
According to investigation reports, officials recovered the leaked question paper from Motegaonkar’s mobile phone during searches at his residence and institute premises. The agency claims he had received the paper and answers on April 23, nearly 10 days before the examination, and allegedly circulated the material further through the network.
The arrest has pushed Maharashtra into the centre of the nationwide investigation, with agencies examining alleged links involving lecturers, coaching operators, intermediaries and students across several districts.
Officials believe the state was not merely incidentally connected to the case, but may have served as a working part of the larger supply chain through which the leaked paper and answer set were allegedly distributed before the examination.
Motegaonkar, popularly known as “M Sir” in Maharashtra’s coaching circles, is regarded as a prominent figure in the state’s test-preparation ecosystem. He reportedly began as a home tutor in the late 1990s, travelling on a bicycle to teach students in the Latur region before establishing RCC in 2003 with only a small batch of students. Over the years, the institute expanded into a major coaching network with branches across Maharashtra, including Pune, Nashik, Aurangabad, Nanded, Solapur, Kolhapur and Akola, enrolling thousands of students annually for NEET, JEE and MHT-CET coaching programmes. RCC gained a strong reputation for producing successful candidates through extensive test series and conceptual teaching methods.
According to the CBI’s allegations reflected in investigation reports, Motegaonkar was not merely a local coaching operator accidentally drawn into the probe, but an “active member of an organised gang” involved in receiving, storing and circulating the leaked examination material.
Officials have reportedly seized multiple electronic devices, including mobile phones, for forensic examination to recover deleted data, communication records and digital evidence that may help investigators map the wider circulation network and identify additional beneficiaries or intermediaries.
The Maharashtra connection in the case had reportedly begun emerging even before Motegaonkar’s arrest.
Police and CBI teams had earlier detained or questioned suspects from Nashik and Latur, including a student from Nashik and other local intermediaries allegedly connected to the operation.
Investigators are also examining claims that some aspirants and medical candidates in Latur may have purchased leaked material through coaching-linked contacts, widening the scope of the probe beyond institutes into student and parental networks.
The investigation has also strengthened alleged links between the Maharashtra coaching network and previously arrested accused persons. Reports have referred to Pune-based chemistry professor P.V. Kulkarni, also known as Pralhad Kulkarni, who was earlier arrested and is suspected of having connections to examination-related processes through alleged links with the National Testing Agency (NTA).
Investigators are now examining whether multiple accused coordinated in obtaining and distributing the paper ahead of the examination. However, these allegations remain part of the ongoing investigation and have not been judicially established.
According to reports emerging from the investigation, students allegedly attended special sessions where questions were dictated or written into notebooks before the examination. Officials claim several of those questions later matched the actual NEET-UG paper “exactly”, which investigators are treating as a possible indication of prior access to confidential examination material.
Some reports further suggest that aspirants may have paid several lakh rupees to gain access to leaked papers and answer keys through intermediaries linked to coaching circles.
The CBI had earlier conducted searches at RCC’s premises in the Shivnagar area of Latur and reportedly questioned Motegaonkar for several hours before placing him under arrest.
Following his detention on May 18, he was produced before a Delhi court, which remanded him to nine days of CBI custody for further interrogation regarding the alleged distribution network, financial transactions and identities of other recipients of the leaked paper.
Reports said the broader NEET-UG 2026 paper leak investigation has now reached at least 10 arrests.
The scandal has triggered concern and outrage among students and parents across Maharashtra and other states, particularly because of the strong role allegedly played by private coaching networks.
Political protests have also been reported in Pune and elsewhere, with demands for a re-examination and stricter safeguards for national-level entrance tests. Reports of emotional distress among aspirants and concerns regarding the integrity of the examination process have intensified public scrutiny of coaching institutions and examination management systems.
Investigators are continuing to examine financial trails, electronic communication records and possible institutional links as part of the expanding probe. Agencies are also reportedly probing whether vulnerabilities within examination-related systems enabled confidential papers and answer keys to be accessed and circulated ahead of the NEET-UG examination.
All allegations remain subject to court proceedings, and the accused are presumed innocent unless proven guilty through judicial process.
(UNI)
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