Bhiwandi, August 11, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Bhiwandi Police Special Investigation Team (SIT) has arrested Prakash Pawar, director of a police training institute in Solapur, in connection with the Maharashtra Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) question paper leak case, officials said on Tuesday.
Pawar’s arrest has taken the total number of accused arrested in the case to 16 as investigators continue to trace the wider network allegedly involved in the examination irregularities.
The TET examination was cancelled after the question paper was reportedly leaked ahead of the scheduled test. The SIT has been examining links across several states, with the investigation initially leading to accused persons in Delhi, Agra and Bihar before investigators uncovered connections in Maharashtra.
Police had earlier arrested Vijendra Gupta, identified as the alleged mastermind in the case. During the probe, Pawar’s name emerged and he was detained for questioning before being formally arrested, DCP Pawan Bansod of Zone 2, Bhiwandi, confirmed.
According to investigators, Pawar runs a Solapur-based institute offering coaching for various competitive examinations, including police recruitment tests. Police suspect that he provided documents belonging to some students to individuals already arrested in the case. Investigators are now determining why the documents were shared and whether Pawar had direct or indirect links with other accused.
The SIT is examining financial transactions, student documents and other evidence to establish the complete chain through which the confidential examination material was allegedly accessed and circulated. Investigators are also probing whether the accused gained financially from the alleged leak and whether additional people were involved.
The Maharashtra State Council of Examinations (MSCE) cancelled the TET 2026 examination on June 27, a day before it was scheduled across 1,028 centres. The decision followed a Bhiwandi Police raid after intelligence inputs indicated that a group had allegedly obtained unauthorised access to the question papers.
The cancellation affected more than 4.28 lakh candidates and triggered widespread concern among aspirants. The council had said the decision was necessary to maintain transparency and fairness in the examination process.
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