Six people have been arrested on Wednesday (August 26, 2026) in the Drug Inspector, Group-B question paper leak case conducted by the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC).

The police allegedly found that the questions were illegally obtained from the original question set prepared by examination experts, and that a separate question paper set was prepared and later made available to people illegally. The confidentiality of the examination process of the Maharashtra Public Service Commission was violated, according to the police.  

The police arrested Vishweshwar Dattatray Nakate (Assistant Cell Officer, MPSC), Abhijit Ganapatrao Lendve (Under Secretary, MPSC), Gopal Bhattu Marathe (Assistant Cell Officer, MPSC), Pravin Dilip Patil (Director, Kautilya Academy, Nandurbar), Amrit Namdev Patil and Lokesh alias Gaurav Rajendra Patil for allegedly being involved in the crime, and they were arrested on August 26, 2026. They were produced before Sessions Court No. 4. The Court has remanded the accused in police custody till September 2, 2026.

The MPSC cancelled the recruitment process for Drug Inspector, Group-B posts in the Food and Drug Administration Department, earlier on Wednesday, after a preliminary inquiry by the Mumbai Police into complaints of irregularities in the screening test held on March 22, 2026.

The Commission had received from some candidates between July 22 to July 26, 2026, from candidates and public representatives. Some candidates said that they received the question paper before the examination began, while others claimed to have received the question paper through circulation on social media.

A preliminary report submitted by the Mumbai Police Crime Branch found that, prima facie, a single candidate received the question set and benefited from it. It was not clear from the report whether multiple people benefited from it.

The Commission said it would conduct a re-examination for the posts of Drug Inspector, Group-B, Food and Drug Administration. Previously applied candidates will not be required to apply again, and no examination fee will be charged for it, the MPSC said. A notification regarding the re-examination will be published separately, they added.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Maharashtra TET paper leak has found that the case appears to be part of an inter-State racket. Of the three arrested accused, two are from Bihar, while the third, identified as Dheeraj Kumar, is from Haryana. Police teams have been dispatched to Bihar, Haryana, and Delhi as the investigation expands.

All the three accused are currently in police custody. Authorities are also examining whether provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) can be invoked against those found guilty.

Police had received a tip-off on the morning of June 27 about an attempt to sell the TET question paper in Bhiwandi.

Acting on the information, a trap was laid in the Kongaon area, where Rajiv Shah, Akash Kumar, and Dheeraj Kumar were apprehended. During the operation, police seized mobile phones, debit and credit cards, cash, and four physical copies of the TET question paper intended for the June 28 examination. Officials from the Maharashtra State Council of Examinations (MSCE) later confirmed that the seized papers matched the original examination papers.

A case was registered at Kongaon Police Station under the Thane City Police Commissionerate.

The accused have been booked under Sections 318(4), 316(5), and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Sections 11(1)(2)(3) and 12(1)(2) of the Maharashtra Competitive Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, and Sections 6 and 8 of the Maharashtra Prevention of Malpractices at Universities, Boards and Other Specified Examinations Act, 1982.

Priya Shinde, Deputy Commissioner of the MSCE, said candidates do not have to register again for the re-test nor will they need to pay any fee when the test is rescheduled.

School Education Minister Dada Bhuse is facing calls for resignation from the Opposition parties over the paper leak.

He said that a committee headed by the Chief Secretary will be formed to work out modalities of conducting the TET and other State-level examinations through the online mode.

(With PTI inputs)