The CBI on Jattvibeday made the tenth arrest in the ongoing probe into the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case, indicating how the alleged examination fraud network expanded from Rajasthan to Maharashtra.The latest accused to be arrested is Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar, founder of Renukai Chemistry Classes in Maharashtra’s Latur. He was arrested on Jattvibeday evening after the CBI recovered a leaked NEET question paper from his mobile phone during a raid at his premises, officials said.Motegaonkar was allegedly an “active member of the organised gang” involved in the leak and circulation of the paper. His coaching centre has nine branches, including the main branch in Latur.As part of a conspiracy with other accused persons, Motegaonkar received the question paper and answers on April 23, nearly 10 days before the examination was held across the country and abroad, the CBI said in its grounds for arrest.The agency alleged that Motegaonkar provided copies of the leaked question papers and answer sheets to several people in the form of handwritten notes that were destroyed after the examination was held.“He is close to PV Kulkarni, a chemistry lecturer, who is associated with the NTA. Searches conducted at his institute and residence resulted in the recovery of the chemistry question bank, which contained exactly the same questions that appeared in the NEET exam held on May 3,” a CBI spokesperson said in a statement. The CBI said it would send the seized mobile phone for forensic analysis to recover deleted data, if any.Investigators are examining his alleged links to the wider network that the agency believes operated across multiple states.As The Tribune tracks the case, it found that the investigation first gathered pace in Rajasthan, where the Special Operations Group (SOG) initiated action following allegations that candidates had received access to the NEET paper before the examination. Early arrests and detentions focused on candidates, intermediaries and relatives allegedly involved in arranging leaked papers in exchange for money.Among the accused who later emerged in the Rajasthan probe was Mangilal Biwal. Investigators alleged that he sought leaked papers for his son in exchange for Rs 10 lakh to Rs 12 lakh.According to the probe, the papers were later printed and distributed among his son Aman Biwal, relatives and acquaintances. Investigators also linked the network to Rajasthan’s coaching ecosystem through Vikas Biwal, who allegedly knew accused Yash Yadav through a coaching institute in Sikar.When the Rajasthan Police arrived at his house in Khurampur village in Farrukhnagar on May 11 and took away Yash Yadav, locals described him as a studious boy who had scored 98 per cent in his board examinations. He had later secured a BAMS seat in Uttarkashi and was a first-year student there.As investigators traced the alleged circulation chain, Yash Yadav came under scrutiny for allegedly sharing physics, chemistry and biology question papers in PDF format through Telegram on April 29, four days before the examination. Investigators suspect this was one of the major points through which the alleged leak spread beyond local circles.The trail from Yash later led investigators to Maharashtra on May 12. According to the CBI, accused Dr Shubham Khairnar from Nashik functioned as a bridge between aspirants and the Pune-linked network.Khairnar had enrolled in the BAMS programme at Shri Satya Sai University in Sehore, Madhya Pradesh, in 2021. However, university records showed that he neither attended classes nor appeared for examinations or participated in campus activities during the course period.He allegedly bought the question paper for Rs 10 lakh and sold it for Rs 15 lakh, pocketing Rs 5 lakh.Ayurveda practitioner Dhananjay Lokhande was also identified as an alleged intermediary suspected of handling examination-related material beyond Pune’s immediate coaching circle.The investigation later focused on Pune-based accused Manisha Waghmare, whom investigators described as a key operational link in the alleged conspiracy. According to the CBI, Waghmare coordinated contacts and mobilised students connected to the network.The probe took a major turn after investigators reached a Pune-based botany professor associated with the examination process as a subject expert. Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, a senior botany teacher from Pune, was arrested in Delhi following sustained interrogation by the CBI.The accused was associated with the NEET-UG 2026 examination process and had been appointed by the National Testing Agency (NTA) as an expert. She allegedly had complete access to the botany and zoology question papers. The CBI alleged that she had access to confidential botany and zoology question pools linked to the NEET paper-setting process.Court submissions alleged that Mandhare conducted “special” coaching sessions for select students at her residence in April, where selected questions were dictated and marked in notebooks instead of being openly circulated. She was later remanded to 14 days’ CBI custody on Jattvibeday.Investigators also linked retired chemistry professor PV Kulkarni to the chemistry paper-setting process. According to court submissions, the CBI alleged that examination-related questions moved through the network involving Kulkarni, Mandhare and Waghmare, while the agency continued forensic analysis of devices, financial transactions and communication records.