MUMBAI, May 28 -- Two more arrests have been made in Maharashtra in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case - Latur-based doctor Manoj Shirure and a Pune-based physics teacher in a coaching centre, Tejas Harshadkumar Shah. These arrests, made by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probing the case, take the total number of arrests to 13, nine from Maharashtra alone. Dr Manoj Shirure, arrested on Tuesday, allegedly facilitated the circulation of leaked chemistry questions from the NEET exam. The questions had been sourced from a retired chemistry professor, P V Kulkarni, also from Latur in Maharashtra and a key figure in the NEET paper leak case. Shirure had allegedly provided the leaked questions to three NEET aspirants, including the son of an coaching centre owner, also an accused in the case, CBI officials said. Latur, in Maharashtra's Marathwada region, has long been a hub of coaching centres that specialise in preparing students for competitive exams, in this case the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) or NEET, the all-India entrance exam for admission to undergraduate medical programmes. Kulkarni, who taught for several years at Latur's Dayanand Science College, was a subject expert for the National Testing Agency (NTA) that conducts the NEET exam, and a paper-setter for this year's exam held on May 3.He was arrested in Pune, where he ran special coaching classes. It was at these classes that Kulkarni allegedly dictated questions from the NEET paper - complete with answer options and correct responses. Kulkarni also allegedly leaked the questions to a co-accused, Shivraj Motegaonkar, proprietor of a Latur-based coaching centre chain, ten days before the NEET exam. When the CBI arrested Motegaonkar, they found the original NEET paper saved in digital form in his phone. It had been sent to him by Kulkarni. Tejas Shah, arrested on Tuesday, is accused of procuring the examination's physics questions leaked by co-accused, Pune-based physics teacher Manisha Havaldar. Shah taught physics at a Pune-based coaching centre called Dr Abhang Prabhu Medical Academy, CBI officials said. Havaldar is the alleged source of the leaked physics questions in the NEET exam. Like Kulkarni, Havaldar too was an NTA-appointed subject expert for the NEET-UG 2026 exam. She had allegedly shared some of the physics questions with arrested co-accused, Pune-based botany teacher, Manisha Mandhare, identified as the alleged source of the leaked biology questions and described by the CBI as a "co-mastermind" in the case. Mandhare was an NTA-designated biology subject expert for the NEET-UG 2026 exam and she also ran coaching classes in Pune. A week before the May 3 NEET exam, Kulkarni also allegedly gave the leaked question paper to Pune beautician, Manisha Waghmare, arrested for soliciting student-clients for people like Kulkarni and her neighbour in Bibwewadi in Pune, Mandhare. Leaks in the NEET question paper surfaced soon after the May 3 exam, after which the CBI registered a case on May 12 based on a complaint from the central government's department of higher education. What has emerged since is a carefully orchestrated network of teachers and intermediaries, who circulated and sold questions from the NEET exam. The 13 arrests so far have been made in Delhi, Jaipur, Gurugram as well as Nashik, Pune, Latur and Ahilyanagar districts in Maharashtra. The CBI's investigation has led to the arrest of the alleged sources of the leaks of chemistry, biology and physics questions of the NEET examination. These were in circulation for over a week before the test, a CBI official said. The CBI is still mapping the sources of the leaks and the roles played by various individuals. While mapping the trail that led from Kulkarni, CBI officers linked him to co-accused Manisha Waghmare, who in turn was allegedly linked to an intermediary in Ahilyanagar, who contacted another intermediary based in Nashik. Intermediaries operating in Nashik and Gurugram sold the leaked questions to an individual for Rs.10-12 lakh. The CBI has traced copies of the leaked questions to three family members of the individual who paid the Rs.10 lakh, to friends of his son, and to a teacher....