Maharashtra TET paper leak key accused, on the run for a month, arrested in Bihar under false identity | Mumbai News

July 25, 2026 Headlinesnews

3 min readUpdated: Jul 25, 2026 04:01 PM IST

Nearly a month after the Maharashtra Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) question paper leak left around six lakh aspirants in limbo, Thane City Police on Saturday arrested the alleged mastermind, Bijendra Gupta, who had been living under a false identity in Bihar after weeks on the run.

The Indian Express had highlighted in its Friday edition that Gupta, a former coaching class teacher facing multiple paper leak cases, remained absconding even as the investigation gathered pace. His arrest comes with the state government yet to announce a fresh examination date and student organisations escalating protests, demanding the resignation of School Education Minister Dada Bhuse over the leak.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone II) Dr Pawan Bansod said police tracked Gupta down in Bihar. “Today morning we arrested him from Bihar. We are bringing him to Thane and will produce him before the court to seek his custody,” Bansod said.

ALSO READ | A shoe, Rs 8,000, no CCTV: How Maharashtra’s TET paper was leaked

Police said they are still searching for a few others who had allegedly agreed to purchase the leaked question paper but have since gone underground. “Those arrested are still in judicial custody and we will soon file the chargesheet,” the officer said.

The leak came to light two days before the examination, after Thane City Police received a tip-off from a Bhiwandi resident who said he had been approached by three people offering to sell the TET question paper. A raid confirmed the accused were carrying question papers meant for the examination. Rajiv Kumar and Aakash Kumar were arrested from Bihar, and Dheeraj Singh from Haryana. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was then constituted to probe the case.

Investigators later traced the leak to an Agra-based printing press, Mahim Patran Pvt Ltd, where two current employees and a former employee allegedly smuggled out copies of the confidential question paper hidden inside their shoe insoles. Police allege the three had been cultivated by Gupta for just Rs 8,000.

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The papers were printed in Agra because the state has for years printed question papers outside Maharashtra to maintain secrecy, with only the head of the examination council aware of the press’s identity. The state outsourced the examination to a private agency in 2017 but reverted to out-of-state printing after another TET leak in 2021. With that system now compromised too, the School Education Department is examining alternative safeguards

Mohamed Thaver is a highly specialized journalist with the Expertise and Authority required to report on complex law enforcement and legal issues. With a career dedicated to the crime beat for over a decade, his work provides readers with informed and trustworthy insights into Maharashtra’s security and justice systems.
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Mohamed Thaver’s long-standing specialization in the crime beat—combined with his focus on technological aspects like cyber crime and his direct coverage of major institutions like the Mumbai Crime Branch and the Maharashtra Home Department—underscores his Trustworthiness and status as an expert source for detailed and reliable journalism on law and order.
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