MUMBAI/PUNE: The Maharashtra Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) paper leak case has widened into what police suspect is a well-organised interstate syndicate, with police identifying a Bihar man as the mastermind and dispatching teams across four states—Bihar, UP, Delhi & Haryana-—to dismantle the network. Meanwhile, Maharashtra govt assured candidates that the postponed exam will be rescheduled without requiring fresh registration or payment of fees.Police suspect Bijender Gupta, a resident of Samastipur, Bihar, to be the kingpin; during interrogation, the three arrested accused allegedly identified him as such. Investigators claim Gupta has allegedly been involved in exam paper leak cases across Odisha, MP and Bihar for nearly 25 years, besides the latest Maharashtra TET.A Bhiwandi court Sunday remanded the three suspects arrested in the TET paper leak case in police custody till July 6, granting investigators additional time to probe the alleged racket after the Maharashtra State Council of Examination was forced to cancel the June 28 TET exam a day before it was scheduled, affecting more than six lakh candidates.Teacher organisations, meanwhile, renewed calls to review the policy of making TET mandatory for the promotion of senior teachers.The case has been registered at Bhiwandi police station taken the matter seriously and assured candidates that the exam would be conducted again without requiring them to submit fresh applications or pay exam fees. The TET was scheduled to be held at 1,028 centres across Maharashtra.
“Strict action will be taken against the culprits,” Bhuse said, adding that a fresh exam date would be announced soon. The controversy triggered political protests, with the Youth Congress staging a demonstration outside Bhuse’s official residence and demanding his resignation.The incident has reignited debate over the state’s policy of making TET a mandatory condition for the promotion of senior teachers.Separate police teams have been sent to Bihar, Delhi, Agra and Haryana to trace the alleged mastermind, Bijender Gupta of Bihar.The three arrested accused -Rajiv Shah (45) of Patna, Akash Kumar alias Suraj Singh (30), also from Patna, and Dhiraj Singh (28) of Panipat, Haryana -were produced before the Bhiwandi court under heavy police security.Since no govt prosecutor was available on Sunday, assistant commissioner of police Vijay Marathe argued the prosecution’s remand application, seeking 10 days of police custody. Judge SM Sutar granted eight days.According to the remand application, investigators need custody to determine how the confidential question papers were procured, who supplied them, whether they had been sold to candidates and whether similar leaks had occurred in the past. Police have also identified Kapil Dahiya of Sonipat, Haryana, as another wanted accused.Police sources said investigators are tracing the source of the leak through the unique QR codes printed on every paper.
The remand papers reveal that police recovered question paper booklets, several mobile phones, ATM and debit cards, cash, bank cheques and other documents from the accused.The seized mobile phones are being sent for forensic examination to retrieve chats, call records and other digital evidence, while investigators are scrutinising bank accounts to establish the money trail.Counsel for accused Dhiraj Singh, Satendra Redhu, informed the court that his client had undergone bariatric surgery three months ago and sought directions to ensure he received proper medical care while in custody.