MPSC Drug Inspector paper leak: four more held, total arrests reach 11

The Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested four more people in connection with the alleged leak of the question paper for the Maharashtra Public Service Commission's Drug Inspector recruitment examination, bringing the total number of accused in the case to 11.

The four — two candidates and two alleged middlemen — were taken into custody on September 24 from Sangli, Buldhana and Navi Mumbai by a special investigation team probing the unauthorised circulation of the confidential paper, the Crime Branch said on September 25.

Police identified the candidates as Sajid Sande, arrested in Sangli, and Vijay Kingar, held in Buldhana. The alleged middlemen, Sandip Khalate and Bhairavnath Kadam, were arrested in Navi Mumbai.

Investigators have alleged that copies of a question paper, finalised by experts and kept in the MPSC's confidential section, were prepared and removed through unauthorised means before being passed on and circulated for financial gain. According to the police, the acts compromised the confidentiality and fairness of the examination and involved the misuse of official duties by public servants.

The case was registered at the Cuffe Parade police station on August 25 and later transferred to the Crime Branch. It is being investigated under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Maharashtra Competitive Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as amended in 2018.

Those arrested earlier include Under Secretary Abhijit Lende; Assistant Section Officers Vishweshwar Nakate and Gopal Marathe, both posted in the confidential section; Kautilya Academy director Pravin Patil; alleged intermediaries Amrut Patil and Lokesh alias Gaurav Patil; and candidate Rutuja Patil.

The examination, advertised under Advertisement No. 116/2025, was held on March 22 at six centres across Maharashtra for recruitment to 154 Group-B Drug Inspector posts in the Food and Drug Administration.