In May 2026, as anger over the cancelled NEET-UG exam grew, a photo was shared as proof that then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan knew one of the arrested paper leak accused. It is false: the woman in the photo is Nivedita Ekbote, a Pune college principal, not the accused teacher Manisha Mandhare.
Claim: A photo shows Dharmendra Pradhan with Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, arrested by the CBI in the NEET-UG 2026 leak case.
Said by: Pro-protest posts on X, including Purnia MP Pappu Yadav and the handle @PriaINC.
What the record shows: The photo was taken at the Pune Book Festival in December 2024 and shows Nivedita Ekbote, principal of Modern College, Pune. Newschecker BOOM
Where the claim came from
NEET-UG was held on 3 May 2026 for about 22 lakh candidates and cancelled on 12 May over leak allegations, with the CBI taking over the probe. Newslaundry The CBI arrested Mandhare, a botany teacher at Modern College in Pune who had been appointed as an expert by the National Testing Agency, along with 10 others. BOOM
Claim · Pappu Yadav On 17 May 2026 the Purnia MP posted the photo on X, asking in Hindi why no action had been taken despite Pradhan's "connection" with Mandhare coming to light, and demanded his dismissal. Others, including the X handle @PriaINC, shared it with the same claim. BOOM Newschecker
What the evidence shows
Documented A reverse image search led both BOOM and Newschecker to an Instagram post by Nivedita Ekbote dated 18 December 2024. Her caption described "meeting Honorable Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at Pune Book Festival." Other photos from the same event are on her Facebook account. Newschecker BOOM
Ekbote is the principal of Modern College, Pune, where Mandhare taught, and is listed as Maharashtra state vice president of the BJP's youth wing. News photos of Mandhare do not match the woman in the viral image. BOOM
On 18 May Ekbote wrote on X that the account was "falsely using my photograph" and that "the photo was taken at a public event with several dignitaries." BOOM Both outlets published on 21 May 2026 and rated the claim false. Newschecker repeated it in its weekly wrap on 23 May. Newschecker
Context
The leak and a troubled CBSE results season fed the Cockroach Janta Party protests, which ended with Pradhan's resignation on 25 July 2026. He wrote that he did not want students' futures to "get entangled in legal complexities". Khaleej Times/Reuters His resignation followed the protests, not any evidence of a personal link to the accused. The full timeline is on our Cockroach Janta Party protests page.
Questions people ask
Who is the woman with Dharmendra Pradhan in the viral photo?
Nivedita Ekbote, principal of Modern College, Pune. The photo is from the Pune Book Festival in December 2024.
Who is Manisha Mandhare?
A botany teacher at Modern College, Pune, appointed as an NTA expert, who was arrested by the CBI in the NEET-UG 2026 leak case. Her college suspended her.
Did Pradhan resign because of the NEET leak?
He resigned on 25 July 2026 after weeks of protests over the leak. No evidence ties him personally to any accused.
Sources
- BOOM: Unrelated photo peddled as Pradhan with NEET leak accused, 21 May 2026
- Newschecker: Does this photo show Manisha Mandhare with Dharmendra Pradhan?, 21 May 2026
- Newschecker: Weekly wrap, misinformation on CJP, NEET paper leak and more, 23 May 2026
- Newslaundry: Why NEET-UG 2026 has been cancelled, 12 May 2026
- Khaleej Times/Reuters: What led to Pradhan's downfall, 25 Jul 2026
