MPSC paper ‘leak’: Fourth Commission official arrested, total arrests rise to 13

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged question paper leak in the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) Drug Inspector recruitment examination arrested another commission official from Navi Mumbai on Friday (October 23, 2026) taking the total number of arrests in the case to 13.

The accused, identified as Rohit Kolatakke, an assistant section officer with the MPSC, allegedly obtained the confidential question set from Abhijit Lendve, an under-secretary with the commission, who was arrested earlier in the case.

The latest arrest comes days after the SIT apprehended Mayur Chandrakant Thakre, an alleged intermediary in the paper leak network, on October 12. Investigators suspect that several MPSC officials, coaching institute operators and middlemen were involved in obtaining and circulating confidential examination material for financial gain.

How the alleged leak unfolded

The case pertains to the MPSC’s Drug Inspector (Group B) screening examination, conducted on March 22, 2026, at six centres across Maharashtra to fill 154 vacancies in the Food and Drug Administration department.

According to investigators, confidential question sets prepared by experts were allegedly copied and removed from the MPSC’s confidential section without authorisation before being circulated to candidates through intermediaries.

Earlier investigations allegedly revealed that assistant section officer Vishweshwar Nakate obtained the question set and passed a copy to Lendve. Police suspect that the material subsequently reached coaching institute operators and candidates through a network of intermediaries.

Middleman’s role under scrutiny

Mr. Thakre’s alleged involvement has provided investigators with another link in the network. According to earlier police findings, he introduced Amrut Patil, the father of candidate Rutuja Patil, to Pravin Patil, director of Kautilya Academy in Nandurbar.

Investigators suspect that Mr. Thakre facilitated the exchange of the leaked question set and financial transactions between the parties.

Among those arrested earlier are MPSC officials Lendve, Nakate and Gopal Marathe, Kautilya Academy director Pravin Patil, and alleged intermediaries Amrut Patil, Lokesh alias Gaurav Patil, Sandeep Khalate and Bhairavnath Kadam.

Three candidates — Rutuja Patil, Sajid Sande and Vijay Kingar — have also been arrested for allegedly obtaining the leaked examination material.

MPSC cancelled recruitment process

The MPSC cancelled the recruitment process in August after a preliminary police inquiry indicated that at least one candidate had allegedly obtained the question set before the examination and benefited from it. The decision came after 488 candidates had already appeared for interviews for the 154 vacancies.

The commission subsequently announced that a fresh examination would be conducted. Candidates eligible under the earlier recruitment process would not be required to submit fresh applications or pay examination fees again. The revised examination schedule was to be announced separately.

A student movement in Maharashtra that brought institutional accountability into focus

Court flags alleged financial dealings

On October 20, a special court rejected the bail application of Lokesh alias Gaurav Patil, observing that the material collected during the investigation suggested the case went beyond the exchange of potential examination questions on WhatsApp.

Special Judge Shayana Patil also questioned his claim of being a whistleblower, noting that he had allegedly retained the questions for nearly four months before reporting the matter to authorities.

The case was registered at Cuffe Parade police station on August 25 following a complaint by Police Inspector Mangesh Desai. The accused have been booked under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Maharashtra Competitive Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, and the Prevention of Corruption Act. Further investigation is underway.