Mumbai, September 25, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested four more people in connection with the alleged Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) Drug Inspector examination question paper leak, taking the total number of arrests in the case to 11.
The latest arrests include two candidates, Sajid Sande and Vijay Kinger, and two alleged middlemen, Sandeep Khalate and Bhairavnath Kadam.
According to the investigation, Sande was arrested from Sangli, while Kinger was apprehended in Buldhana. Khalate and Kadam were arrested from Navi Mumbai.
The probe is examining alleged breaches of confidentiality and fairness in the MPSC examination, including allegations that official duties were misused to unlawfully access, withdraw and exchange question papers for financial gain.
Those arrested earlier include former Under Secretary Abhijit Lendve, Assistant Chamber Officers Visheshwar Nakate and Gopal Marathe, Kautilya Academy Director Praveen Patil, alleged middlemen Amrit Patil and Lokesh alias Gaurav Patil, and candidate Rituja Patil.
The SIT is now investigating whether other people were involved and is working to establish the complete chain through which the question paper was allegedly accessed and circulated.
The case had triggered protests among MPSC aspirants. On September 7, thousands of candidates took to the streets in Pune, demanding greater transparency in the commission’s functioning and seeking the removal of its chairman, Vivek Bhimanwar.
The investigation also took an unusual turn after a reported personal dispute between two individuals allegedly connected to the leaked paper brought the matter to the MPSC’s attention.
According to the Crime Branch, Lokesh alias Gaurav Patil, 24, was allegedly among those who received the leaked question paper before the March 22 examination. Police allege that he obtained it from his then-girlfriend, Rituja Patil.
Investigators further allege that after the couple separated, Lokesh approached the MPSC and informed it about the alleged leak. The Crime Branch is probing the circumstances surrounding the disclosure and the roles of all those allegedly involved in obtaining and circulating the paper.
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