3 min readMumbaiJun 28, 2026 10:26 PM IST
The investigation into the Maharashtra Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) question paper leak has widened beyond state borders, with Thane police dispatching multiple teams to Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to trace the alleged mastermind and unearth the interstate network behind the racket.
Three accused arrested in the case were produced before a court on Sunday and remanded to police custody till July 6.
Police said five persons have been named in the FIR. Of them, Rajiv Kumar and Aakash Kumar, both residents of Bihar, and Dheeraj Singh from Haryana have been arrested. Two other accused — identified as Dahiya and Balinder Singh, both from Haryana — remain absconding, and efforts are underway to verify their exact roles.
Investigators suspect the arrested men were only one of several groups tasked with selling the leaked question paper.
“There is a possibility that multiple groups were operating simultaneously in Pune and other parts of the state to sell copies of the paper. Our teams have been sent to several states to probe the wider conspiracy,” a police officer said.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the alleged mastermind is based in Delhi, while other members of the syndicate operated from the National Capital Region (NCR). The gang had allegedly planned to sell each leaked question paper for Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3 lakh and expected to make crores through the operation. Police, however, are yet to disclose the identities of the alleged mastermind and prospective buyers.
The three arrested accused were caught carrying one original set of the TET question paper along with four photocopies. They had allegedly travelled to Bhiwandi to sell the leaked papers and were expecting to earn nearly Rs 1.5 crore.
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Investigators are examining their mobile phones and digital records to identify intended buyers and map the larger network behind the leak. Police are also verifying the accused persons’ identity documents and checking their criminal antecedents.
“Such accused often operate under multiple bogus identities,” an official associated with the probe said.
The racket came to light after Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone II), Dr Pawan Bansod, received a tip-off that three persons had checked into a hotel in Kongaon, Bhiwandi, to sell the leaked TET question paper.
Acting on the information, a police team raided the hotel around 11 am on Saturday and found the accused in possession of four sets of the examination paper.
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Education Department officials were immediately called to the spot and confirmed that the questions matched those in the original examination paper.
The Maharashtra TET examination was scheduled to be held on Sunday at 1,028 centres across the state. Following the discovery of the leak, the state government postponed the examination.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe the leak and identify all those involved in the interstate racket.
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