Mumbai Police Arrest Six Including Three MPSC Officials in Exam Paper Leak

The Mumbai Crime Branch on Wednesday arrested six people, including three Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) officials, in connection with the alleged leak of the Drug Inspector (Group-B) screening examination question paper. Following the revelation, the commission cancelled the entire recruitment process.

The arrested officials were identified as MPSC under secretary Abhijit Ganpatrao Lendwe and assistant section officers Vishweshwar Dattatraya Nakate and Gopal Bhattu Marathe. Police also arrested Kautilya Academy director Pravin Dilip Patil, along with alleged co-conspirators Amrut Namdeo Patil and Lokesh alias Gaurav Rajendra Patil. All six accused were produced before a Mumbai sessions court and remanded to police custody until September 2.

According to Crime Branch investigators, the accused accessed questions prior to the examination, compiled them into a separate set, and circulated them among unauthorised persons. The offline screening examination had been conducted on March 22 across six divisional headquarters in Maharashtra for Drug Inspector posts under the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The FIR was registered on Tuesday following a complaint by Inspector Mangesh Desai of the Crime Branch's Property Cell. Charges have been filed under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Maharashtra Prevention of Malpractices at Competitive Examinations Act, and the Prevention of Corruption Act for cheating, criminal breach of trust, criminal conspiracy, and corruption.

The recruitment drive started with an advertisement on July 29, 2025. Results were declared on June 12, after which 488 candidates appeared for interviews held between July 1 and July 22, resulting in 485 candidates being declared eligible for appointment. However, complaints submitted between July 22 and July 26 revealed that questions had been leaked and circulated electronically before the exam.

The MPSC announced it will conduct a fresh examination to ensure a fair and transparent recruitment process. All candidates, including those who had cleared the screening round and appeared for interviews, will be required to appear for the re-examination.