4 min readMumbaiUpdated: May 18, 2026 02:38 PM IST
The CBI’s arrest of Shivraj Motegaonkar, founder of Latur-based RCC Classes, has put one of Maharashtra’s best-known coaching figures at the centre of the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case.
Motegaonkar was arrested on Sunday after being questioned for the second time in a week. The CBI has alleged he was an “active member” of the network that leaked and circulated NEET-UG 2026 question papers before the May 3 examination. He is the tenth person arrested by the CBI in connection with the case.
What triggered the arrest
A viral video recently surfaced showing Motegaonkar asking students how many questions from RCC’s mock tests had appeared in the actual NEET paper. Students responded that most of them had. On Sunday, CBI searched RCC’s Latur premises and questioned him in Pune simultaneously.
The agency is examining 42 chemistry questions circulated by the institute before the exam as “guess questions”, after alleged similarities were found between those questions and portions of the leaked paper.
The agency further alleged that Motegaonkar, in conspiracy with other accused persons and public servants associated with the National Testing Agency (NTA), supplied copies of leaked question papers and answer sheets to several persons, including one Vivek Patil and others.
According to the CBI’s grounds of arrest, investigators alleged that Motegaonkar, “in conspiracy with other accused persons”, received NEET-UG 2026 question papers and answers before the exam. Searches at his Latur residence on May 14 found leaked questions on his mobile phone, which was seized for forensic examination.
The CBI further alleged that handwritten copies of leaked questions and answers were supplied to several people, including one Vivek Patil, and that Motegaonkar later destroyed leaked question papers after the exam. He has been booked under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.
Story continues below this ad
The man behind RCC
Motegaonkar comes from a farming family and studied in Latur. According to his coaching centre’s official website, he completed an M.Sc in Chemistry and began teaching chemistry to students preparing for board and entrance exams.
In his early years, he travelled by bicycle from house to house giving chemistry tuitions. Around 1999, he started his own coaching classes from a rented premises in Latur with just 10 students, teaching in small batches with handwritten notes he prepared himself.
“I was in his 2001 batch. At that time, we were only around 40 students in Latur. Now there are over 15,000 students in Latur itself. He is brilliant and has built the careers of many students,” said one of his oldest students.
Over two decades, RCC, formally Renukai Career Centre, grew into one of Maharashtra’s biggest coaching brands for NEET, JEE and CET preparation. It now operates centres in Latur, Pune, Nashik, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nanded, Solapur, Kolhapur and Akola, with around 40,000 students enrolling annually. Fees range between Rs 50,000 and Rs 65,000 per student.
Motegaonkar was widely known as “M Sir” in coaching circles. Former students who went on to become doctors and professionals describe him as a “guru.”
Story continues below this ad
The arrest has also drawn scrutiny to Motegaonkar’s links with retired chemistry professor P V Kulkarni, arrested earlier by the CBI and described by investigators as a key accused in the alleged leak of chemistry questions.
Kulkarni had briefly taught at RCC Classes in the past. Investigators are examining whether any professional or financial links between the two are relevant to the case.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd