PUNE, May 16 -- The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Pune-based beautician Manisha Sanjay Waghmare, 46, on Thursday for allegedly being a conduit in the network, spread across different states, involved in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case. Pune police that detained Waghmare before handing her over to the CBI, said she was a resident of Sukhsagar Nagar, and allegedly worked as an intermediary in the racket. It is suspected that she was tasked to identify parents and students who were ready to pay for guaranteed success in the highly competitive medical entrance examination, and connected them to the main accused Dhananjay Lokhande, based in Ahilyanagar, who was arrested on Wednesday. Officials believe she received commission for arranging these contacts. Deputy commissioner of police (crime) Vivek Masal confirmed the development, and said: "Based on inputs shared by the CBI, we traced the suspect and handed her over to the CBI. Further investigation is being carried out by CBI." Police have seized Waghmare's mobile phone and laptop. Preliminary examination revealed calls and messages exchanged between her and Lokhande. People in the know of things in the police department said, Waghmare's husband is a dentist, and her alleged involvement with the racket began nearly two years ago when she was trying to help her daughter clear NEET. During this period, she allegedly came across advertisements on social media promising to help aspirants pass the competitive exam. Waghmare took the help with optimism but lost lakhs when she was cheated by the individuals. It is suspected that she allegedly came in contact with persons involved in the larger examination fraud network at this time, and started working as an agent, said police officials. She reportedly used contacts from her beauty parlour's customer base and social circle in Pune to network with parents of NEET aspirants and connected them with Lokhande in exchange for money. Waghmare, said police sources, was an important intermediary in the network, who distributed mock papers to students. She was also known to visit various coaching institutes in the city in a look-out for possible targets, said police sources. A senior officer from Pune police said, "We found Rs.10 lakh was transferred to Waghmare's account on the day of the NEET exam."...