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| - Fact Check: Viral Photo of Union Minister Falsely Linked to NEET-UG 2026 Paper Leak Case
Claim :
The Education Minister has a very old link with Manisha Mandhare, who is now in CBI custody in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak caseFact :
The claim is false. The woman in the picture is not Manisha MandhareAmid growing outrage over the NEET paper leak row, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced major changes to the NEET exam system. From next year, the medical entrance exam will be held in a computer-based format. He also said the CBI has been asked to carry out a detailed probe into how the question paper was accessed and circulated.
Amid this, a picture is being widely circulated on social media. In the picture, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is seen standing beside a woman wearing a red salwar. It appears that she is posing for a photograph with the minister.
Social media users are sharing this picture in connection with the NEET paper leak case. Users claim the woman seen with Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is Manisha Mandhare, who is currently in CBI custody in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case.
You can find a screenshot of the claim below.
Fact Check:
The viral claim is false. The woman in the photo is not Manisha Mandhare, and there is no evidence linking the Union Minister to the case.
To verify the claim, we conducted a keyword search. However, we found no credible news reports or this picture published by any prominent media outlet. If such an incident had actually occurred, it would likely have been widely reported by major media organizations.
During the search, we found several media reports related to Manisha Mandhare. We then compared the viral picture with the published photographs and found that the woman in the viral image is not Manisha Mandhare.
Further investigation revealed that the woman seen with Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is Nivedita Ekbote, Principal of Modern College, Pune, Maharashtra.
Speaking to ANI, Nivedita said, I got to know about this from the media, only that the senior teacher Manisha Waghmare has been arrested by the CBI... She has been here for the last 24 years and has been working with the NTA under a confidentiality clause... She was a good teacher here, but we have no clue about the NTA, NEET exams, or paper setting. As per the law, whenever we get official information from the authority, we will take legal action.
We also found that Nivedita Ekbote uploaded the same viral picture on her account on December 18, 2024.
The viral claim linking the Union Minister to the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case is false. The woman in the viral photo is not Manisha Mandhare, and no evidence supports the claim.
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