22 lakh students.
One leaked paper.
And a courtroom drama that just refuses to end.
On Monday, a Delhi court extended the judicial custody of 10 accused in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case till July 11.
Special Judge Vijeta Singh Rawat at Rouse Avenue Court greenlit the CBI's plea.
The accused? Produced via video conferencing. Their earlier custody had just expired.
The alleged mastermind isn't some shadowy figure in a hoodie.
It's P.V. Kulkarni — a chemistry lecturer from Pune.
The CBI says he was the source of the leak itself.
He even ran "special coaching classes" for select students at his residence.
He remains in custody till July 8, along with co-accused Shivraj Motegaonkar.
The 10 whose custody was just extended:
👤 Yash Yadav
👤 Mangilal Biwal
👤 Dinesh Biwal
👤 Vikas Biwal
👤 Dhananjay Lokhande
👤 Tejas Harshad Shah
👤 Shubham Khairnar
👤 Manisha Waghmare
👤 Manisha Havaldar
🩺 Dr. Manoj Shirure
A chain that allegedly stretches from a Pune classroom… to a nationwide medical entrance test.
Let the numbers do the talking.
📚 22 lakh+ aspirants wrote NEET-UG 2026
🚫 Exam cancelled on May 12 after leak reports surfaced
🔁 Re-examination held on June 21
🕵️ CBI probe ordered after nationwide protests
The charges stacked against the accused are heavy:
criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, theft, destruction of evidence — plus the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.
This isn't just a court order extending some dates.
It's a slow-motion reckoning for an exam system that 22 lakh families trust with their kids' futures.
A chemistry teacher allegedly held the answer key.
A testing agency had to cancel and re-run India's biggest medical entrance.
And a nation watched its most competitive dream get questioned in real time.
Custody can be extended.
Trust, once leaked, is much harder to put back.
That's all for now!
