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)

The Maharashtra legislature erupted in protests on Monday (June 29, 2026) as Opposition legislators demonstrated on the Vidhan Bhavan steps and later walked out of the House, accusing the government of total failure to prevent examination paper leaks, including the recent Teacher Eligibility Test (TET).

Senior leaders, including Nana Patole, alleged that those behind the TET and NEET leaks are linked to the BJP, and demanded a comprehensive investigation into the examination process.

Opposition members raised slogans against the State government over the alleged TET paper leak and its decision to conduct Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) examinations in the online mode.

Led by Congress’s Satej Patil, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) leader Jitendra Awhad, the Opposition legislators demonstrated on the steps of Vidhan Bhavan.

Raising the issue in the House, Congress Legislature Party Leader Vijay Wadettiwar claimed that repeated paper leaks have tarnished the State’s image and jeopardised the future of lakhs of students and teachers.

As soon as the House assembled for the day, Mr. Wadettiwar demanded suspension of proceedings to discuss the issue of paper leaks.

He questioned the government’s failure to conduct examinations in a transparent manner despite lakhs of candidates preparing for them over several years.

The Congress MLA demanded a comprehensive probe into the TET paper leak, including the agencies involved in preparing the question papers, the companies associated with the examination process and the entire network behind the alleged racket.

“While three persons have been arrested, their alleged links with individuals in other States point to a larger network that must be exposed,” he said.

Referring to the 2018 TET scam, Mr. Wadettiwar alleged that one of the accused, Abhishek Sawarikar, was later inducted into the BJP.

He also raised questions about the alleged role of a company named Crystal and claimed the developments had raised serious doubts about the government’s handling of the matter.

Demanding a detailed discussion in the Assembly, Mr. Wadettiwar urged the government to take stringent action against those responsible and announce concrete measures to prevent similar incidents in future. School Education Minister Dada Bhuse said the government will make a detailed statement.

Following this, the Opposition staged a walkout after accusing the government of failing to provide a satisfactory reply on the matter and not allowing adequate discussion.

Ahead of the day’s proceedings, Opposition legislators staged a protest on the steps of the Vidhan Bhavan, raising slogans, making an apparent reference to School Education Minister Dada Bhuse and his Malegaon Assembly constituency.

Opposition leaders shouted slogans alleging that while the TET paper was leaked in Bhiwandi, the “money reached Malegaon”, in an apparent swipe at Mr. Bhuse.

Speaking to reporters, senior Congress leader Nana Patole alleged that those involved in the TET and NEET paper leak cases were linked to the BJP.

“The TET paper leak is the BJP’s doing. Even in the NEET paper leak case, those allegedly involved are associated with the party. We want to ask if the NEET and TET examinations are being sabotaged at the cost of students,” he said.

Mr. Patole claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had no moral right to remain in office in the wake of repeated examination paper leaks.

“The government may not care about TET aspirants, but we want a discussion on the paper leak issue in both Houses of the legislature because we are concerned about the future of students,” he added.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday (June 27, 2026) described the alleged paper leak and postponement of the Maharashtra Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) as “theft” of the future of youngsters.

“Another paper leak. Another exam cancelled. This time, Maharashtra’s TET.

“The country’s education and examination system has been turned into a system of extortion, leaving every youngster in the country insecure,” the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha said in a post in Hindi on X.

“This is not just a paper leak, this is the theft of the youth’s future,” he added.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also voiced concern over the matter.

In a post on X, she said, “Youth, wake up!!! Until you raise your voice loud and clear, this terror with your future will continue unabated. You’ve been deceived once again.”

Priyanka Gandhi pointed out that the TET has been postponed in Maharashtra amid allegations of paper leak.

“NEET, CBSE, SSC, CUET and now TET…. This chain will only stop when you launch a movement and demonstrate your strength. Until that happens, the BJP government and the Prime Minister will have no accountability toward you. They won’t put a curb on corruption in exams, nor will they take responsibility for your future,” she said.

‘Shameful century’

Congress leader Pawan Khera slammed the government over the development, claiming that it seems determined to score a “shameful century”.

“It has already presided over nearly 90 exam paper leaks. Today, another has been reported – this time in Maharashtra, where tomorrow’s TET examination has been cancelled after the paper was leaked.

“The so-called double-engine sarkar runs on one fuel alone: scams,” Mr. Khera alleged in a post on X.

“For this government, paper leaks have become an industry that it profits from. But for India’s youth, they mean years of hard work, sacrifice and hope being destroyed in a matter of minutes,” he added.

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government, Mr. Khera claimed, has failed the country’s youngsters more than anyone else.

“It has stolen their opportunities, toyed with their aspirations and repeatedly betrayed their trust. And perhaps it will be the youth of India who ultimately consign the BJP’s political career to the doldrums. That would be poetic justice,” he asserted.

The TET-2026, scheduled for Sunday (June 28) in Maharashtra, was postponed after a raid in Bhiwandi town of Thane district found that certain individuals possessed several questions purportedly similar to those from the actual paper, officials said.

Police in Bhiwandi have registered a case against three individuals in this connection, they added.

In a statement, the Maharashtra State Council of Examination (MSCE) said it is committed to conducting the examination with complete transparency. “Given the gravity of the situation and the necessity for an in-depth probe, the exam scheduled for June 28, 2026, has been postponed,” it said.

According to the Thane district administration, the breach came to light in the early hours of Saturday (June 27), when police acted on intelligence about individuals possessing unauthorised information regarding the examination paper.