Kolhapur: Main Accused Arrested In Maharashtra TET Paper Leak Racket; Total Arrests Rise To 18

Kolhapur: In the Maharashtra Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) paper leak racket case, the Local Crime Branch (LCB) of the Kolhapur Police Force has accelerated the investigation and arrested one more accused, who is the main perpetrator. This brings the total number of accused arrested in this case to 18. It has been revealed that the racket defrauded students by promising to provide them with the exam paper before the test in exchange for their original educational documents and cash.

Based on the information received by the Kolhapur Superintendent of Police, Yogesh Kumar, a team led by Police Inspector Ravindra Kalamkar of the LCB, with the assistance of the Murgud Police Station, raided Shivkrupa Furniture Mall in Sonage village of Kagal Tehsil in Kolhapur District in the wee hours of Sunday, around 1:30 AM. Seven accused were taken into custody at that time, and following that, 10 more were detained. However, the search for the prime accused, Mahesh Bhagwan Gaikwad (resident of Karad, Satara District), had been unsuccessful.

Regarding this incident, a criminal case was registered at the Murgud Police Station under BNS Sections 318 (cheating) and 62 (punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or other imprisonment), along with relevant sections of the Maharashtra Prevention of Malpractices at University, Board and Other Specified Examinations Act, 1982. The police custody of the accused taken into custody has been granted until Tuesday.

Based on evidence obtained during police custody and further investigation, the involvement of 11 more persons has been revealed, and they have been arrested. They include Rohit Pandurang Sawant (resident of Radhanagari), Abhijeet Vishnu Patil (resident of Kagal), Sandeep Bhagwan Gaikwad (resident of Karad), Amol Pandurang Jarag (resident of Radhanagari), Swapnil Shankar Powar, Randhir Tukaram Shewale, Tejas Deepak Mulik, Pranay Navnath Sutar, Sandeep Shivaji Chavan, and Shrikant Nathuram Chavan, as well as the main accused, Mahesh Gaikwad.

Police Inspector Ravindra Kalamkar, Police Sub-Inspectors Jalindar Jadhav and Santosh Galve of the LCB, and Assistant Police Inspector Shivaji Kare of the Murgud Police Station, along with police personnel and officers from the Cyber Cell, have made special contributions to this operation. The police have stated that further investigation of this case is ongoing, and the involvement of more accused is likely to be revealed.