Fourth accused arrested in Maharashtra TET scam

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The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Maharashtra Teacher Eligibility Test (Maha TET) paper leak scam has made a fourth arrest in the case. A Maharashtra police team arrested Suman Kumari Gupta (40) from Patna in Bihar. She is the wife of the alleged ringleader of the scam, Bijendar Kumar Baleshwar Kumar Saha, who is an absconding accused.

Ms. Gupta was remanded in police custody till July 6 by a Thane court. Police said they were aware of the financial transactions in the multi-state racket and had met other accused arrested in the case.

Meanwhile, a Look Out Circular (LOC) has been issued against two absconding accused in the case, including the alleged mastermind of the scam. “We have issued an LOC against Kapil Dahiya, who was flying the reservation under a different name as ‘Kapil Kapil’. He was part of a team that came to Bhiwandi to sell the papers but then quietly moved out,” an officer privy to the investigation told The Hindu on Tuesday (June 30, 2026).

Mr. Dahiya hails from Sonipat in Haryana. Dheeraj Balraj Singh, his accomplice from Panipat in Haryana, was caught by the police during a trap laid on the accused who were trying to sell the TET question paper ahead of the exam. The Maharashtra government postponed the TET on the eve of the exam after a police investigation found that the paper had been leaked.

Teams from Haryana and Bihar have reportedly come to Maharashtra to sell newspapers. Their movement was coordinated by Mr. Sah, who has been absconding ever since police teams nabbed the three accused. They arrived in Mumbai after Mr. Sah booked their flights and car journey and was in touch with them to coordinate their movement. The two teams traveling to Mumbai did not know each other but were said to have been in contact with Mr Saha, police said.

So far, the SIT has formed 10 teams to probe the matter. When the team reached Mr. Sah’s house in Patna last week, he was already on the run. Police on investigation said that the family initially misled them, but later investigation found that the absconding accused’s wife was allegedly involved in financial transactions and had met other accused in the case.

Police now fear Mr Sah may have traveled out of India. Since he belongs to Samastipur (in Bihar), he could sneak into Nepal, a police official told The Hindu. “The LOC will help us catch him,” he said.

Published – 30 Jun 2026 23:05 IST