Bhiwandi: A court in Bhiwandi has remanded all 15 accused, including the alleged mastermind, in the Maharashtra Teacher Eligibility Test (TET)-2026 paper leak case to judicial custody till August 17, while the Special Investigation Team (SIT) continues its extensive probe into what investigators believe is a well-organised interstate examination racket.
Alleged Mastermind Among Those Produced in Court
The accused were produced before the court on Monday after the expiry of their police custody. Among them was Sonu Diwakar, who had recently surrendered before the court. He was remanded to one-day police custody on August 2 following his surrender and was produced again along with the other accused on Monday. The court subsequently sent all 15 accused to judicial custody until August 17.
The case first came to light on June 27, a day before the scheduled TET examination, when the Bhiwandi Police arrested three persons allegedly in possession of confidential question paper sets. During the preliminary investigation, police confirmed that the seized papers belonged to the TET examination scheduled for June 28. Following the revelation, the Maharashtra State Council of Examination (MSCE) cancelled the examination with immediate effect, citing the seriousness of the breach.
Considering the magnitude of the case, an SIT was constituted to investigate the paper leak and identify the entire network behind the operation.
Investigation Uncovers Wider Conspiracy
As the investigation progressed, the SIT uncovered what officials described as a sophisticated syndicate allegedly involved in leaking the examination papers. The probe led to the arrest of several more accused, including the wife of the alleged kingpin, Bijender Gupta. With the latest developments, the total number of arrests in the case has reached 15.
The SIT had earlier traced the alleged mastermind Bijender Gupta to Samastipur in Bihar, where he was arrested along with another key accused, Indrajit Singh, before both were brought to Maharashtra for further investigation.
Joint Interrogation Conducted to Reconstruct Plot
Investigators subsequently sought the custody of all the accused together, arguing that a joint interrogation was essential to reconstruct the conspiracy and establish the role of each individual in the operation. Acting on the request, the Bhiwandi Police re-arrested the accused on July 25 and produced them before the court, which initially granted police custody till July 30.
During subsequent hearings, the prosecution informed the court that investigators needed additional time to conduct face-to-face interrogation of all the accused. According to the police, such questioning was crucial to establish the financial trail behind the alleged deal, examine the movement of funds, identify the roles played by each accused, and determine how the confidential question papers were allegedly smuggled out of the printing press before the examination.
Court Orders Judicial Custody After Police Probe
The police also maintained that the interrogation was necessary to expose the complete operational structure of the syndicate and identify every individual connected with the conspiracy. Accepting these submissions, the court had earlier extended the police custody till August 3.
With the police custody period ending on Monday, all the accused were once again produced before the Bhiwandi court. After considering the present stage of the investigation, the court remanded all 15 accused to judicial custody till August 17.
Speaking on the progress of the investigation, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Vijay Marathe, who is supervising the SIT probe, said the investigation was advancing on multiple fronts and several significant leads had emerged during the course of the inquiry.
He said the investigators had gathered crucial evidence pointing towards the involvement of additional individuals connected to the paper leak network. Marathe added that anyone found to have played a role in the conspiracy would face legal action, and further arrests are likely as the investigation progresses.
Police officials suspect that the examination paper leak was orchestrated by an organised interstate network with links extending beyond Maharashtra. Investigators believe that more disclosures are expected in the coming days as the SIT continues to analyse digital evidence, financial transactions, and the alleged communication chain among the accused.
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