The CBI on Wednesday arrested two more persons in connection with the alleged question paper leak of NEET‑UG 2026, taking the total number of arrests in the case to 13.“The two arrested persons have been identified as Dr Manoj Shirure, a Latur‑based physician, and Tejas Harshadkumar Shah, a physics faculty member at a Pune coaching institute,” a CBI spokesperson said.A Delhi court later sent Dr Shirure and Tejas Shah to CBI custody till June 1. Special Judge Vidya Prakash, who was the acting Duty Metropolitan Magistrate, was hearing the agency’s plea to interrogate both the accused for five more days and allowed the plea.Also Read | From experts to accused: Prominent Pune faces in NEET-UG paper leakAccording to the CBI, Dr Shirure allegedly played a pivotal role in facilitating access to leaked chemistry questions for three students, among them the son of an accused owner of a coaching centre in Latur.A source said initially, the investigators were planning to make Dr Shirure their witness in the case, but after taking legal opinion, they decided to arrest him.“Probe has revealed that Shirure obtained the chemistry paper from accused P V Kulkarni, who is already in custody, and passed it on to the students,” the CBSE spokesperson said.Also Read | Exclusive | What teacher who first flagged NEET leak wrote in his complaintKulkarni is a retired chemistry teacher who was “associated with NTA” and arrested from Pune. He and another accused, Shivraj Raghunath, were also produced before Special Judge Vidya Prakash on Wednesday after their police custody ended. The Delhi court sent Kulkarni and Raghunath to 14-day judicial custody till June 10.Story continues below this adThe CBI has arrested two other teachers, Manisha Mandhare and Manisha Sanjay Havaldar, in the case.Shah, identified as a faculty member at Dr Abhang Prabhu Medical Academy (APMA) in Shivajinagar, Pune, is accused of receiving leaked physics questions from another arrested suspect, Manisha Havaldar. He subsequently passed on the material to students enrolled at the coaching centre, the agency said.With his arrest, the Pune-based coaching institute has come under the CBI scanner. When The Indian Express visited APMA, it found that Shah also served as the academy’s chief operating officer.Read | ‘Must call their bluff’: Testing body after NEET-UG cancelled over suspected leakSachin Haldavnekar, chairperson of the academy, said Shah had been associated with the institute for the last four years and had earlier worked in Mumbai before moving to Pune.Story continues below this adResponding to questions about Shah’s role at the institute, Haldavnekar said, “He was managing the staff. We gave him that position, but it was basic administration of office staff. The institute has no role in the paper leak. Our institute has been known for its fair practices for the last four years. He (Shah) has been taken in an individual capacity.”Asked about Shah’s alleged connection with Manisha Havaldar — the Physics teacher and principal of Seth Hiralal Saraf School, who was earlier arrested by CBI in the same case — Haldavnekar said he was unaware of any close association between them.Also Read | Anatomy of a NEET leak: A paid WhatsApp group, a whistleblower under cloud, and a ‘guess paper’ that spread like wildfireHaldavnekar denied that Shah had prior information that Havaldar was an expert associated with the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts NEET.“I think there was only one meeting. As she is a senior faculty member, he wanted to clarify certain doubts,” he said. Asked why Shah approached Havaldar specifically for clarification, Haldavnekar said, “She is a senior faculty member, that’s all.”Story continues below this adThe CBI launched a detailed investigation after initial allegations of irregularities in the NEET‑UG 2026 examination surfaced. As part of the probe, the agency has conducted searches at 49 locations across several cities and seized a number of incriminating documents, laptops and mobile phones. “Forensic analysis of the seized electronic devices and documents is underway to reconstruct the network and establish the full chain of the conspiracy,” officials said.According to the CBI probe, Havaldar allegedly leaked the physics questions, Kulkarni allegedly leaked the chemistry questions, and Mandhare allegedly leaked the botany and zoology questions. “Mandhare was not only involved in setting the question paper but also in translating it; Kulkarni was also involved in translating the paper into Marathi,” said the source.