Maharashtra TET Paper Leak: Bhiwandi Court Sends Three Accused To Police Custody Till July 6

During the remand proceedings, the prosecution informed the Court that the accused had allegedly travelled from Delhi to Bhiwandi to sell the leaked TET question paper for Rs. 1.5 crore. Police submitted that custodial interrogation was necessary to trace the source of the leaked paper, uncover the financial trail and identify other members of the alleged network operating across multiple states.

The three accused, arrested from Kongaon village on the outskirts of Bhiwandi on Saturday, were identified as Akash Kumar (30) and Rajiv Shah (45), both residents of Patna, Bihar, and Dhiraj Kumar (28), a resident of Panipat, Haryana. They were produced before Sessions Judge S.M. Sutar on Sunday (June 28).

Seeking ten days' police custody, Assistant Commissioner of Police Vijay Marathe, appearing for the prosecution, argued that the accused were allegedly part of a wider inter-state paper leak syndicate and that investigating teams would have to travel to several states to gather evidence and identify additional conspirators. The court, however, granted police custody for eight days.

According to the prosecution, Bihar resident Bijender Gupta is the alleged kingpin of the paper leak racket. Police claimed before the court that Gupta has allegedly been involved in nearly 20 examination paper leak cases across different states. Another accused, Kapil Dahia of Haryana, has also been named in the investigation. Both Gupta and Dahia are currently absconding and have been declared wanted.

Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Dudhe informed the Court that investigation into the roles of the two absconding accused was underway and that police teams had already been dispatched to other states to trace them and gather further evidence.

Investigators further told the court that four sets of the Maharashtra TET 2026 question paper were recovered from the arrested accused. Officials from the Education Department allegedly confirmed that the seized papers matched the actual question paper prepared for the examination scheduled on Sunday.

Following the recovery, the State postponed the examination, affecting more than six lakh candidates across Maharashtra.

Police alleged that the accused intended to earn Rs.1.5 crore by selling the leaked papers to prospective candidates.

The accused have been booked under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including offences relating to cheating, forgery, fabrication of documents for fraudulent purposes and criminal conspiracy. They have also been charged under the Maharashtra Competitive Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, and the Maharashtra Prevention of Malpractices at University, Board and Other Specified Examinations Act, 1982.

During the hearing, Advocate Satender Redhu, appearing for accused Dhiraj Kumar, sought directions to ensure that his client received adequate medical treatment while in custody, submitting that Kumar had recently undergone bariatric surgery for weight loss. The prosecution assured the court that appropriate medical care would be provided.

The defence also disputed the allegations, contending that Dhiraj Kumar had been falsely implicated. According to his counsel, Kumar was travelling from Delhi to Mumbai by train with friends when he was apprehended by the police.

Meanwhile, the Thane Police have constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to conduct a comprehensive probe into the alleged leak. Headed by Deputy Commissioner of Police Pawan Bansod under the supervision of Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Panjabrao Ugle, the SIT comprises two Assistant Commissioners of Police, nine police inspectors and twenty other personnel.