A big revelation has come to light regarding the NEET paper leak case in Maharashtra. It has been revealed that Dr. Manoj Shirure, a pediatrician from Latur, had distributed the leaked NEET papers among four hospitals. CBI is now considering making Dr. Manoj the main government witness in this case. Based on Manoj’s evidence and statements, five other doctors from Latur, Nanded and Sambhajinagar are currently being questioned. Of these five doctors, two are pediatricians, two are gynecologists and one works in the OPD of a government hospital.
It is worth noting that in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case, the noose of investigation has now started tightening on the students and their parents as well. In this context, CBI has detained Dr. Manoj Shirure, a well-known pediatrician from Latur, and interrogated him in Pune. The allegations are that he had allegedly purchased the leaked papers to benefit his son as well as other children in his extended family.
**Manoj ready to become government witness**
According to sources, the CBI initially raided his hospital and other locations in Latur, during which he was interrogated for several hours. During this action, mobile phones, documents and other digital evidence were seized. Later, he was brought to the CBI office in Pune, where the interrogation continued till late night. According to sources, Dr. Manoj has agreed to become a government witness in this case.
The investigating agencies believe that through his testimony, the entire modus operandi of the paper leak network can be presented before the court through a direct witness. The CBI investigation revealed that Shirure, retired chemistry professor P.V. Kulkarni and was in touch with RCC Class owner Shivraj Motegaonkar. It is alleged that question papers were distributed to students through this network.
**Paper purchased for ₹12 lakh**
The investigating agencies suspect that Shirure had allegedly purchased the leaked paper for his son for around ₹12 lakh. Later, in an attempt to recoup expenses, PDF copies of the same paper were sent to others via Telegram. CBI is now also investigating the financial transactions related to this network. According to sources, Shirure had allegedly purchased the question paper not only for his son, but also for other children in the family.
As a result, his wife and one of his relatives, Dr. Pramod, have also been questioned. During the investigation, the CBI technical team successfully recovered a large amount of deleted digital data. It is alleged that on May 3 – after investigation – Shivraj Motegaonkar had deleted several files from his mobile phone; However, the forensic team later recovered that data.
**Some questions were memorized by writing**
The investigation also revealed that while preparing the question paper, some questions were handwritten and memorized; After that, they were converted into PDF format and transmitted through mobile phones and Telegram. According to CBI, this network of paper leaks was spread across five states, in which Maharashtra and Rajasthan have emerged as the main distribution centers of this racket. The investigation into Nagpur module and Shivraj Motegaonkar network is still going on.
