PUNE, May 28 -- As the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has intensified its probe into the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case in Maharashtra, Pune-based Dr Abhang Prabhu Medical Academy (APMA) came out in support of its faculty member, Tejas Shah, chief operating officer and physics faculty member at APMA, who was arrested on Wednesday. The academy claimed Shah's interactions with accused Manisha Havaldar, who was arrested earlier in the case, were strictly personal and the institute had no role in it and the conversation between the duo was limited to clarifying doubts related to the NEET and Joint Entrance Examination-Main syllabus. The development comes as investigators widened the probe into the alleged role of coaching institutes and private study circles in Pune and Latur, with the agency examining digital evidence, handwritten notes, financial transactions and alleged special coaching batches conducted before the examination. Investigators suspect that Shah had access to leaked physics questions allegedly shared by Havaldar, who is believed to have links with the National Testing Agency's (NTA) examination process. However, APMA chairperson Prof Sachin Haldavnekar denied the allegations. "Shah had doubts related to certain chapters, like radioactivity, from which questions were asked in the JEE Main examination. He approached Havaldar to clarify whether these topics were part of the NEET syllabus, since both examinations are conducted by NTA and some topics are not clearly defined," Haldavnekar said. He claimed that Shah had sought only expert guidance and was unaware of Havaldar's alleged association with the NTA. "The discussions were related to syllabus topics and not examination questions," he said. According to Haldavnekar, Havaldar had provided certain written clarifications to Shah, and those chats later came under the scanner of the investigating agency. "Not a single question from the topics discussed with Havaldar appeared in the final NEET examination. Even if two or three questions matched coincidentally, that cannot be termed a paper leak," he said. Haldavnekar also questioned the alleged consultancy payment made to Havaldar. "She charged Rs.20,000 as consultancy fees. How can anybody leak the NEET paper for just Rs.20,000?" he said. He further claimed there was no similarity between APMA's mock tests and the final NEET question paper. "There is no question of any leak....