MPSC Drug Inspector Paper Leak Case: Court Extends Police Custody Of Four Accused Till October 3

Mumbai: The Esplanade Court on Tuesday extended the police custody of four accused arrested in connection with the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) Drug Inspector question paper leak case till October 3. The accused have been identified as candidates Sajid Sande from Sangli and Vijay Kingar from Buldhana, who allegedly obtained the question set through illegal means, and alleged middlemen Sandeep Khalate and Bhairavnath Kadam.

Candidates And Middlemen Among Those Arrested

According to the investigation, MPSC Under Secretary Abhijit Lendwe is allegedly the mastermind of the racket. Investigators have found that Lendwe allegedly provided the question paper to candidates Sajid Sande and Vijay Kingar for around ₹15 lakh to ₹20 lakh per paper.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) sought further custody of the four accused after allegedly finding that they had destroyed the four mobile phones used in the commission of the crime. The police told the court that they needed custody to trace and recover the destroyed devices and investigate the money trail linked to the transactions.

SIT Seeks Custody To Trace Destroyed Phones

A case was registered at Cuffe Parade Police Station on August 25, 2026, based on a complaint filed by Police Inspector Mangesh Desai. The accused have been booked under Sections 112, 316(4), 316(5), 318(4), 238(b), 317(2), 303(2), 61(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with relevant provisions of the Maharashtra Competitive Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

During the investigation, the SIT allegedly found that copies of question sets selected by experts from the MPSC's confidential section were prepared and illegally taken out of the commission's premises before being obtained by the accused for financial gain.

Earlier, the SIT had arrested Under Secretary Abhijit Lendwe, Assistant Section Officer Vishweshwar Nakate, who was posted in the confidential section, Assistant Section Officer Gopal Marathe, Kautilya Academy director Pravin Patil, middlemen Amrut Patil and Lokesh alias Gaurav Patil, and candidate Rutuja Patil.

As part of the further investigation, the SIT arrested candidates Sajid Sande and Vijay Kingar, who allegedly procured the question set through illegal means. The team subsequently arrested Sandeep Khalate and Bhairavnath Kadam, who allegedly acted as middlemen in the racket. Both were arrested from Navi Mumbai on September 24. With these four arrests, the total number of accused arrested in the MPSC Drug Inspector question paper leak case has risen to 11.

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