Maharashtra Police have arrested three people for allegedly attempting to sell question papers of the Maharashtra Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) for Rs 1.5 crore ahead of the examination, officials said.
The accused were arrested in Bhiwandi, Thane district, following a trap laid by the Kongaon Police after receiving a tip-off about the alleged paper leak.
A case has been registered against five persons, including two who remain absconding.
According to police, the suspects had allegedly obtained question papers for the TET examination scheduled to be held on June 28 and were trying to sell them to prospective buyers.
Acting on the information, a police team posed as customers and met the accused near Dongarali on the Thane-Nashik Highway.
As per the First Information Report (FIR), the accused initially offered to show the question papers for subjects including Hindi, Marathi, Social Science and Mathematics over a video call.
However, when the undercover officer demanded a hard copy, they allegedly agreed to arrange one in exchange for Rs 1.5 crore, seeking an advance payment after the papers were verified. The three were arrested while allegedly attempting to hand over the hard copy concealed in an envelope.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Rajiv (45) and Akash (30), both residents of Bihar, and Dheeraj (28), a resident of Haryana. Police are searching for two other accused, identified as Kapil and Bijender, who are currently absconding.
Investigators suspect the accused were involved in multiple examination paper leak cases across the country.
They have been booked under provisions related to cheating and criminal conspiracy of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with the Maharashtra Prevention of Malpractices at University, Board and Other Specified Examinations Act and the Maharashtra Competitive Examination Act.
The Maharashtra TET examination was postponed after the alleged leak came to light nearly 24 hours before it was scheduled to be conducted.
Bureau Report
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