MPSC Drug Inspector Paper Leak: Crime Branch Uncovers Alleged Chain Involving 294 Confidential Questions

Mumbai: The investigation into the alleged paper leak in the Maharashtra Public Service Commission’s (MPSC) Drug Inspector, Group-B examination has revealed an alleged chain involving a confidential set of 294 questions, which was prepared before the examination and subsequently reached a candidate through MPSC officials and other intermediaries.

Six accused arrested in alleged paper leak case

The Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested six people, including three MPSC officials, in connection with the case. The arrested accused have been identified as MPSC Under Secretary Abhijit Ganpatrao Lendwe, Assistant Room (Kaksh) Officer Vishweshwar Dattatray Nakate, MPSC official Gopal Bhattu Marathe, Kaustilya Academy director from Nandurbar Pravin Dilip Patil, Amrut Namdeo Patil, and Lokesh alias Gaurav Rajendra Patil.

According to police sources, MPSC official Vishweshwar Nakate was entrusted with the confidential ‘superset’ of questions prepared by experts for the Drug Inspector examination. Police allege that Nakate typed 294 questions on his laptop, prepared a separate set and returned the original confidential superset to its place. He then took a printout of the 294 questions and allegedly handed it over to Under Secretary Abhijit Lendwe in the MPSC office parking lot.

Question set allegedly passed through multiple intermediaries

Lendwe allegedly passed the set to MPSC official Gopal Marathe. According to the investigation, Marathe was in contact with Pravin Patil, who runs a coaching institute in Nandurbar, and allegedly handed over the question set to him. Police allege that Pravin Patil subsequently gave the set to Amrut Patil, father of candidate Rutuja Patil. According to the police, Amrut Patil paid Pravin Patil Rs 5 lakh for the question set. Investigators have also found that Mayur Thakare allegedly played a role in connecting Amrut Patil with Pravin Patil.

The question set subsequently reached Rutuja Patil, who allegedly shared it with her then-boyfriend Gaurav Patil over WhatsApp. Police investigation has revealed that several questions from the confidential set of 294 questions appeared in the actual examination. All 100 questions in the Drug Inspector examination were allegedly selected from this 294-question superset.

Candidate allegedly received questions two days before exam

According to the investigation, Rutuja allegedly received the question set on March 20, two days before the examination held on March 22. Police allege that she and her father were advised not to attempt all 100 questions correctly, as doing so could raise suspicion. Rutuja allegedly attempted 91 questions and correctly answered 77 of them.

Police said Rutuja had only two days to prepare the 294 questions. Investigators have reportedly found that she received the questions in Nashik and studied them there before appearing for the examination.

Break-up allegedly exposed the paper leak : An important aspect of the case is the role of Gaurav Patil, who is among the six arrested accused. Initially, it was Gaurav who allegedly emailed the MPSC informing it about the suspected paper leak. According to police, Gaurav and Rutuja were in a relationship. Their relationship reportedly deteriorated after Rutuja’s father allegedly refused to approve their marriage. After Rutuja cleared the examination and the relationship subsequently turned sour, Gaurav allegedly complained to the MPSC about the paper leak.

Police allege that Gaurav, despite being the person who reported the leak, was himself a beneficiary of the leaked questions. The investigation has also revealed that Gaurav’s brother appeared for the Drug Inspector examination but did not clear it. Gaurav has reportedly claimed that due to alleged sibling rivalry, he did not share the question set received from Rutuja with his brother. Police are now verifying whether Gaurav actually shared the leaked questions with his brother and, if so, why his brother failed to qualify despite allegedly having access to the leaked material.

Police suspect questions were sold to other candidates : Investigators also suspect that Pravin Patil may not have given the 294-question superset only to Rutuja’s father, but may have sold the questions to other candidates who appeared for the examination. The Crime Branch is investigating how many candidates received the 294-question set and how much money was allegedly collected in exchange for it.

Rutuja Patil’s role is also being investigated. The Crime Branch has issued her a notice, while police are searching for Mayur Thakare, who allegedly facilitated contact between Amrut Patil and Pravin Patil.

Examination cancelled after paper leak allegations : The Drug Inspector recruitment examination was conducted after a gap of nearly 11 years. Following an advertisement issued in 2025, the screening examination for 154 Group-B posts was conducted on March 22, 2026, at the headquarters of six revenue divisions across Maharashtra. Around 44,500 candidates had applied for the examination. The results were declared on June 12, following which 506 candidates were declared eligible for interviews, while a provisional merit list of 488 candidates was released.

Following complaints regarding the alleged paper leak and a preliminary investigation, the MPSC on August 26 decided to cancel the Drug Inspector recruitment process. The commission will conduct the examination afresh, meaning thousands of candidates who appeared for the March 22 examination will have to take the examination again.

The case has raised serious questions over the MPSC’s examination system and the security of confidential question papers. The Crime Branch is now investigating who was involved in preparing and circulating the 294-question superset, whether the questions were sold to other candidates and how many people ultimately benefited from the alleged leak.

WhatsApp Chat Allegedly Reveals Details of Drug Inspector Exam Paper :

A WhatsApp conversation between Rutuja Patil and Gaurav Patil, dated March 20 and 22, 2026, allegedly contains details suggesting that Patil had access to a set of questions before the Drug Inspector examination.

In the conversation on March 22, Patil claimed that 78 questions from a question set she had received appeared in the examination. She said she had confirmed and solved those questions and had answered 13 additional questions, taking her total to 91 attempted questions. She further stated that she was confident about 77 to 78 answers and discussed calculating the marks by dividing the number by two.

The chat also contains a reference to her having submitted her mobile phone and speaking to a person outside the examination gate. Another participant advised her to check the question paper, if available, and verify how many answers were correct.

In another conversation dated March 20, Patil allegedly discussed the question set and said that questions would come from it. She also mentioned that, apart from the questions in the set, she would have to deliberately leave 10 other questions unanswered.

The conversation further refers to instructions allegedly given by her father to avoid discussing the matter with Mayur Thakre or even family members. He reportedly expressed concern about the uncertainty surrounding the recruitment process, including the possibility of a stay, a higher cut-off or the interview not being conducted.

The chat also mentions a demand for ₹5 lakh allegedly made by a person referred to as “Kautilya”. Patil reportedly asked for the money to be arranged by the following day, while stating that her father was already under financial stress.

The authenticity and context of the WhatsApp conversation, as well as the allegations regarding prior access to examination questions, would need to be independently verified by the investigating authorities.

To get details on exclusive and budget-friendly property deals in Mumbai & surrounding regions, do visit: https://budgetproperties.in/