Solapur Academy Owner Prakash Pawar Arrested in TET Paper Leak Case

The Special Investigation Team probing the Maharashtra Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) paper leak case arrested Solapur-based academy owner Prakash Pawar on Tuesday. The arrest follows investigations tied to an initial raid in Kongaon village near Bhiwandi, taking the total number of accused arrested in the case to 16.

Pawar was produced before a court, which granted the police his custody until August 15. Police identified him as the only accused arrested from Maharashtra so far.

According to the police, Pawar served as an alleged link between the initial three suspects arrested in the case and prospective buyers of leaked question papers. His role was to identify students and job aspirants in Maharashtra who were willing to pay for the papers. The three suspects were apprehended before they could complete the transaction with him.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Sachin Sangle, a member of the SIT, said investigators were led to Pawar after discovering original documents belonging to candidates during a house search in Delhi. Subsequent checks on candidate details established Pawar's involvement in searching for potential buyers.

Pawar, an arts graduate, has operated an academy in Solapur since 2012. The institute prepares candidates for Group D positions in government organisations, Army recruitment, and Maharashtra Police constable examinations.

The paper leak came to light on June 27, when Bhiwandi police acted on intelligence to raid a location in Kongaon village, about 5 km from Bhiwandi city. Officers seized copies of leaked question papers and arrested Akash Kumar, 30, Rajiv Shah, 45, and Dhiraj Kumar, 28, who were negotiating with prospective buyers.

Verification with the Maharashtra State Council of Examination confirmed that the seized materials matched the official question paper prepared for the June 28 exam across 1,028 centres. The state government subsequently postponed the test, which was scheduled to be taken by more than 600,000 candidates.

The alleged mastermind behind the operation, Bijender Gupta, was arrested on July 25 following searches across Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, and Bihar. His wife, Suman Gupta, was arrested for allegedly providing financial assistance, while printing press employee Sonu Kumar surrendered before the Bhiwandi court on July 28.