Nearly a month after the Maharashtra Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) was cancelled following a question paper leak that affected around six lakh candidates, the Thane City Police have arrested the alleged mastermind, Bijendra Kumar Gupta, from Bihar, where investigators say he had been living under a false identity.
The arrest marks a significant breakthrough in the Special Investigation Team’s (SIT) probe into the interstate paper leak racket, but police say the investigation is still underway as several suspected buyers remain absconding.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone II) Dr Pawan Bansod confirmed that Gupta was arrested in Bihar and is being brought to Thane for custodial interrogation after being produced before a court.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government is yet to announce a revised examination date, leaving lakhs of teacher aspirants in uncertainty. Student organisations have also intensified protests, demanding accountability and raising concerns over the integrity of recruitment examinations.
Mastermind Arrested After Chase
According to the Thane City Police, Gupta had managed to evade arrest for nearly a month by changing his identity and hiding in Bihar. “Today morning we arrested him from Bihar. We are bringing him to Thane and will produce him before the court to seek his custody,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Dr Pawan Bansod said, adding that custodial interrogation is expected to help investigators uncover the wider interstate network behind the leak.
Police said they are still searching for several individuals who had allegedly agreed to purchase the leaked question paper and have since gone underground. Investigators also confirmed that those arrested earlier remain in judicial custody and that a chargesheet will be filed soon.
The leak had come to light just two days before the scheduled June 28 examination after a resident of Bhiwandi alerted police that three men were attempting to sell the confidential TET question paper. Acting on the tip-off, officers conducted a raid and allegedly recovered genuine examination papers, leading to the arrest of Rajiv Kumar and Aakash Kumar from Bihar and Dheeraj Singh from Haryana.
A Special Investigation Team was subsequently formed to investigate what soon emerged as a multi-state examination fraud. The cancellation of the examination affected nearly six lakh teacher aspirants across Maharashtra, many of whom had spent months preparing while also bearing travel and accommodation expenses. Even after Gupta’s arrest, candidates continue to await clarity on when the examination will be rescheduled.
Printing Press Link Unearthed
As the investigation progressed, the SIT traced the source of the leak to Mahim Patran Pvt. Ltd., a printing press in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, responsible for printing the confidential Maharashtra TET question papers. Investigators allege that two serving employees and one former employee secretly removed copies of the question paper by concealing them inside their shoe insoles before leaving the facility.
Police claim the employees were allegedly recruited by Gupta for just ₹8,000, with reports suggesting promises of land plots were also made to facilitate the theft. Officials say the incident has exposed serious vulnerabilities in the security protocols governing the printing and transportation of confidential examination material.
The probe has already led to multiple arrests, including Gupta’s wife, Suman Gupta, who was arrested from Patna over alleged financial links to the operation, and his associate Kapil Dahiya. Investigators allege Gupta operated an interstate network spanning Maharashtra, Bihar, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh and suspect he may have links to several other examination paper leak cases, including the Odisha Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) paper leak in 2023.
Student organisations have continued to protest over the delay in announcing a fresh examination date and have demanded the resignation of Maharashtra School Education Minister Dada Bhuse, arguing that the incident has shaken public confidence in the fairness of recruitment examinations. The controversy has also fuelled political debate, with opposition parties questioning administrative oversight and examination security.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
The arrest of the alleged mastermind is an important step towards accountability, but it is only one part of restoring public trust in the examination system. For nearly six lakh aspiring teachers, the real issue extends beyond identifying those responsible it is about ensuring that months of honest preparation are not repeatedly undermined by organised criminal networks and institutional lapses.
Competitive examinations represent opportunities that can shape lives and livelihoods, making transparency, strong security measures and swift administrative responses essential to preserving faith in public institutions. As investigations continue, timely justice for the accused must be matched by timely relief for candidates through a credible re-examination process and systemic reforms that prevent similar breaches in the future.
