Bhiwandi (Maharashtra), June 27 (IANS) After the major question paper leak expose just a day before the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) 2026 examination in Maharashtra, a senior police official said that more accused will soon be arrested in connection with the case, while revealing that the culprits had planned to sell the exam paper at around Rs 1.5 crore.

Maharashtra State Council of Examinations (MSCE) on Saturday abruptly cancelled the examination after a joint raid by the Bhiwandi Police exposed the alleged exam paper leak.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Bhiwandi Zone 2), Pawan Bansod, told IANS that the police had received a tip off about some “outsiders” coming to Bhiwandi with the question paper.

“Yesterday, we got a secret information that in Bhiwandi area, some outsiders are going to come and that they are going to leak this exam paper for tomorrow’s Teachers Eligibility Test(TET) 2026 of Maharashtra. We got to know they are going to come here with the exam paper,” he said.

The police official added: “We laid a trap… after this, we apprehended three accused and upon checking them we found four different exam papers. Immediately, we called the senior officers of the Education department. After verifying the exam papers, we came to know that this exam was going to be conducted tomorrow.”

The DCP said that police personnel in the state have been repeatedly instructed by the State Director General of Police Sadanand Vasant Date, other senior police officials, and even the state government to “dig deeper” in the exam paper leak cases and “dismantle the entire network”.

He also added: “We have just registered an FIR; details will be revealed as the investigation progresses.”

“For now, we have three accused but we think more will be arrested,” DCP Pawan Bansod said.

He added that the accused had planned to sell the exam question paper at around Rs 1.5 crore.

The Education Department and Thane Police have launched a high-level joint investigation to trace the mastermind behind the leak, map out how the security protocol was breached, and determine if any internal Board officials were involved.

The MSCE has assured candidates that a fresh date for the Maharashtra TET 2026 will be finalised soon.

All updates regarding the rescheduled examination dates and revised guidelines will be published directly on the official website of the Maharashtra State Council of Examinations.

–IANS

cg/khz