MPSC paper ‘leak’: Fourth Commission official arrested, total arrests rise to 13
MPSC aspirants and students during a protest march against alleged irregularities in competitive examinations in Pune. File | Photo credit: PTI
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged leakage of questions in the recruitment of drug inspectors of the Maharashtra Public Service Inspectorate Commission (MPSC) on Friday (Oct 23, 2026) arrested another officer of the commission from Navi Mumbai, taking the total number of arrests in the case to 13.
The accused, identified as Rohit Kolatakke, MPSC assistant section officer, is said to have obtained a set of confidential questions from Abhijit Lendve, deputy secretary of the commission, who was earlier arrested in the case.
The latest arrest comes days after the SIT on October 12 arrested Mayur Chandrakant Thakre, the alleged middleman in the paper leak network. Investigators suspect that several MPSC officials, coaching institute operators and middlemen were involved in procuring and disseminating confidential investigation materials for financial gain.
How the alleged leak unfolded
The case pertains to the MPSC Drug Inspector (Group B) screening examination conducted on March 22, 2026 at six centers across Maharashtra to fill up 154 vacancies in the Food and Drug Administration department.
According to the investigators, the confidential question sets prepared by the experts were allegedly copied and removed from the confidential section of the MPSC without permission before being circulated to the candidates through intermediaries.
An earlier investigation reportedly revealed that Section Assistant Officer Vishweshwar Nakate obtained the set of questions and gave a copy to Lendve. The police suspect that the material subsequently reached coaching institute operators and interested parties through a network of intermediaries.
The role of the intermediary under scrutiny
Mr. Thakre’s alleged involvement provided investigators with another link in the network. According to earlier police findings, he introduced Amrut Patil, father of candidate Rutuj Patil, to Pravin Patil, principal of Kautilya Academy in Nandurbar.
Investigators suspect that Mr. Thakre facilitated the exchange of a leaked set of questions and financial transactions between the parties.
Those arrested earlier include MPSC officials Lendve, Nakate and Gopal Marathe, Kautilya Academy principal Pravin Patil and alleged middlemen Amrut Patil, Lokesh alias Gaurav Patil, Sandeep Khalate and Bhairavnath Kadam.
Three candidates — Rutuja Patil, Sajid Sande and Vijay Kingar — were also arrested for allegedly obtaining leaked exam material.
MPSC has canceled the recruitment process
The MPSC canceled the recruitment process in August after a preliminary police investigation showed that at least one candidate was allegedly given a set question before the exam and benefited from it. The decision came after 488 applicants had already appeared for interviews for 154 vacancies.
The commission subsequently announced that a new test would be conducted. Candidates eligible under the earlier recruitment process would not have to submit fresh applications or pay examination fees again. The revised exam schedule was to be announced separately.
A student movement in Maharashtra that brought institutional accountability into the limelight
The court marked the alleged financial transactions
On 20 October, a special court rejected the bail application of Lokesh alias Gaurav Patil, noting that material gathered during the investigation indicated that the case went beyond the exchange of potential investigative questions on WhatsApp.
Special Judge Shayana Patil also questioned his claim of being a whistleblower, noting that he allegedly kept the questions for almost four months before reporting the matter to the authorities.
A case was registered at Cuffe Parade police station on August 25 based on a complaint by police inspector Mangesh Desai. The accused were booked under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act, the Maharashtra Competitive Examination (Prevention of Fraudulent Means) Act, 2024 and the Prevention of Corruption Act. Further investigation is underway.
Published – 24 Oct 2026 0:54 IST