Maharashtra TET paper leak: 'Mastermind', aide arrested from Bihar; 14 held so far

THANE: Police have arrested the alleged mastermind of the Maharashtra Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) 2026 paper leak case and another accused from Bihar, taking the total number of persons held in the case to 14, a senior official here said.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) nabbed the alleged kingpin, Vijayendrakumar alias Bijendra Kumar Gupta, and his associate Indrajit Singh from Samastipur on Friday, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Bhiwandi Zone-II, Pawan Bansode said on Saturday. With this, the total number of arrests in the case has gone up to 14, Bansode told PTI.

Gupta and Singh were brought to Pune on Saturday and then to Bhiwandi in Thane district. A local court remanded the duo in police custody till July 30. The SIT had been tracking Gupta for several weeks after his name surfaced as chief coordinator of the inter-state paper leak network, Bansode said.

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Maha TET exam 2026 was scheduled for July 28

Apart from Gupta and Singh, the others arrested in the case so far include Rajiv Shaw, Akash Kumar, Dheeraj Singh, Sonu Singh, Mithun Singh, Kapil Dahiya, Gupta's wife Suman Kumari Gupta, and Agra-based private printing press employees Nareshkumar Mahore, Sanjaykumar Sharma, and Babulal Kushwaha.

The paper leak came to light on June 27, when Bhiwandi police, acting on confidential intelligence, raided a location and seized copies of unauthorised question papers. Subsequent verification with Maharashtra State Council of Examination (MSCE) officials confirmed that the seized material matched the actual question paper drafted for the TET , which was scheduled for June 28 across 1,028 examination centres.

The state government subsequently postponed the TET 2026 examination, followed by registration of an FIR at Bhiwandi police station and formation of the SIT. With the latest arrests, investigators expect to uncover the complete financial chain behind the racket, Bansode said.

"We will come to know about the transactions, including how much money they had committed or already disbursed, as the probe progresses," he said.

According to the police, some of the accused had visited Pune in an attempt to sell the leaked question paper. Initial investigations have indicated an organised criminal syndicate operating within the printing network.

"All those working in the printing press are private employees, and they shared long-standing ties with the Mahi Mantram press. Whenever examination papers arrived for printing, they would discuss among themselves how to leak and sell them," the official stated.

A few more suspects involved in the racket have been identified and efforts are underway to apprehend them, he added.