Daijiworld Media Network – Mumbai
Mumbai, Jul 15: The accused in the Maharashtra Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) paper leak case had allegedly planned to sell the leaked question paper to as many as 5,000 candidates, investigations have revealed.
According to a senior Thane police officer, the alleged mastermind of the racket, Bijendrakumar Gupta, had demanded Rs 70,000 for every paper sold, irrespective of the price at which it was later resold to candidates.
Police have formed three teams to trace Gupta and his associate Sonukumar Kishanlal, who remain absconding. Search operations are currently underway in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Thane Police is probing the case and has so far arrested 12 accused. Three persons were initially arrested while attempting to sell the leaked question paper, following which Gupta's wife was arrested from Patna. Among those arrested is Mithunkumar Singh, Gupta's brother-in-law.
After investigators established that the paper had been leaked from a printing press in Agra, police arrested Nareshkumar Mehor and Babulal Kushwah, both employed in the packaging section of the press, along with former employee Sanjaykumar Sharma. Two more accused were subsequently arrested. However, Gupta and Sonukumar Kishanlal from Agra continue to evade arrest.
Police said CCTV cameras at the Agra printing press were not operational at the time of the leak, although the digital video recorder (DVR) has been seized for investigation. Nareshkumar and Babulal allegedly played a key role in stealing the question paper before passing it to Gupta. Investigators said Nareshkumar concealed the paper inside his shoe to smuggle it out of the printing press after receiving it from Babulal. Gupta had allegedly lured the accused with financial incentives to execute the plan.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Vijay Marathe said the investigation has revealed that the accused directly targeted employees at printing presses where examination papers were printed. They allegedly persuaded or bribed staff to smuggle out the papers before selling them to candidates. Police suspect similar rackets may be operating in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana and Delhi.
The paper leak has also triggered a political row after Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi raised serious questions over the incident.
Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad criticised the Maharashtra government, saying Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis should explain how the examination paper was leaked instead of indulging in political rhetoric.
"Before engaging in political point-scoring, the Chief Minister should answer how the paper was leaked and why the examination has still not been conducted," Gaikwad said, alleging that the paper leak reflected the failure of the BJP-led government.