Centre Appoints Two Joint Secretaries, Joint Directors For NTA Amid NEET Paper Leak Case: Who Are They?

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The Centre on Saturday appointed two joint secretaries and two joint directors to the National Testing Agency (NTA), which has come under scrutiny over the alleged NEET-UG paper leak controversy.

According to an order issued by the Personnel Ministry, Anuja Bapat, a 1998-batch officer of the Indian Statistical Service, and Ruchita Vij, a 2004-batch officer of the Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Indirect Taxes), have been appointed as joint secretaries in the agency for a five-year term, as per PTI.

In a separate order, the ministry said Akash Jain of the Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) and Aditya Rajendra Bhojgadhiya of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service have been appointed as joint directors in the NTA for tenures upto 4 December, 2029 and 16 May, 2028, respectively.

NEET-UG paper leak case latest updates

A Pune-based college said on Saturday that disciplinary proceedings would be initiated against biology lecturer Manisha Gurunath Mandhare following her arrest by the Central Bureau Of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the alleged NEET -UG 2026 paper leak case.

Mandhare, who served on the NTA's paper-setting committee for the NEET-UG conducted on May 3, was arrested after being interrogated at the agency's headquarters in New Delhi.

"Mandhare has been working in the junior college section since 2002 and was teaching biology to students of Classes 11 and 12 for the last 24 years. Considering her teaching experience, Mandhare was appointed by National Testing Agency for certain confidential work related to the NEET examination process," the Modern College of Arts, Science and Commerce stated, reported PTI.

Also Read | Rahul Gandhi tells PM amid NEET-UG 2026 row: 'Sack Dharmendra Pradhan or...'

The Pune-based college mentioned that the work entrusted to Manisha Gurunath Mandhare by the NTA was“completely confidential in nature", with all communication and instructions exchanged directly between the agency and the individual concerned.

As a result, neither the college administration nor its parent institution had any direct involvement in the process, Principal Nivedita Ekbote said in the statement.

'Kingpin' Kulkarni, accused Waghmare sent to 10-day CBI custody

A Delhi court on Saturday remanded the alleged mastermind of the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case, PV Kulkarni, along with co-accused Manisha Waghmare, to 10 days of custody with the CBI.

Also Read | Doctors' body moves SC seeking dissolution of NTA after NEET-UG paper leak

Special CBI Judge Ajay Gupta passed the order after the agency informed the court that the two accused needed to be taken outside New Delhi for further investigation and that the broader conspiracy behind the alleged leak was still being examined, as per the report.

Appearing for the agency, Special Public Prosecutor Neetu Gupta sought a 14-day custodial remand to facilitate their interrogation.

During the hearing, the CBI told the court that Kulkarni was a subject expert who had been involved in preparing the 2026 NEET-U question paper. The agency further alleged that co-accused Dhananjay Lokhande had obtained the leaked material from Waghmare.

Also Read | NEET-UG 2026 paper leak: 'Mastermind' Manisha Mandhare arrested in Delhi

The CBI has lodged a case and constituted special teams to investigate the alleged leak of the NEET-UG question paper, which led to the cancellation of the examination conducted on May 3.

About 23 lakh candidates had enrolled for the medical entrance test, which was conducted nationwide by the NTA.

According to NTA, it received information about the alleged malpractice on the evening of May 7, four days after the examination was conducted.

Meanwhile, the re-examination for NEET-UG is scheduled to take place on June 21.

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