Mumbai, Aug 26 Police on Wednesday arrested six persons, including three Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) officials, in connection with alleged question paper leak of the 2026 Drug Inspector (Group-B) screening examination which has now been cancelled.
The accused, one of them an under secretary of the commission, were arrested by the Mumbai Crime Branch, officials said, even as the MPSC cancelled the recruitment process for Drug Inspector Group-B posts under the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) following a preliminary inquiry into alleged malpractice in the screening examination conducted earlier this year.
The commission on Tuesday decided to conduct a fresh examination for the posts, saying the step was necessary for ensuring that all candidates get a fair and equal opportunity, and for maintaining the confidence of candidates in the recruitment process by safeguarding the integrity, transparency and impartiality of its examinations.
Cancellation of the process means that even candidates who had cleared the screening examination and subsequently appeared for interviews will have to take the fresh examination. Of the total, 485 candidates were eligible for appointment to the posts.
In a parallel development, the Mumbai Crime Branch, probing the alleged question paper leak, made quick arrests.
The arrested accused were identified as MPSC's Assistant Section Officers Vishweshwar Dattatraya Nakate and Gopal Bhattu Marathe, commission's under secretary Abhijit Ganpatrao Lendwe, director of Kautilya Academy in Nandurbar Pravin Dilip Patil, and two alleged co-conspirators, Amrut Namdeo Patil and Lokesh alias Gaurav Rajendra Patil, Crime Branch officials said.
The accused allegedly accessed the questions ahead of the test, compiled them into a separate set, and distributed it to unauthorised persons, they said.
The case pertains to the offline screening test conducted on March 22 for the posts of Drug Inspector (Group-B) under the FDA.
Police said experts had set the question papers under strict confidentiality protocols. However, the suspects allegedly breached the confidential process, obtained the questions prior to the examination, compiled a duplicate set, and circulated it among unauthorised individuals.
Preliminary investigations confirmed a breach in the confidentiality surrounding the MPSC examination process. Following a complaint filed by Mangesh Desai, Police Inspector attached to the Property Cell of the Crime Branch, an FIR was registered on Tuesday.
The case has been registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Maharashtra Prevention of Malpractices at Competitive Examinations Act, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, dealing with offences including cheating, criminal breach of trust, criminal conspiracy, and corruption by public servants.
All accused were produced before a Mumbai sessions court, which remanded them in police custody until September 2, the officials added.
The MPSC earlier received complaints regarding alleged irregularities in the screening examination.
The complaints claimed some candidates had received the question paper or questions before the examination and that the material was subsequently circulated through social media and other electronic platforms, the commission said in its statement.
The recruitment process had been initiated through an advertisement issued on July 29, 2025. The screening examination was conducted offline at six divisional headquarters across Maharashtra and its examination was declared on June 12, after which 506 candidates were found eligible for the interview stage, it said.
Of these, 488 candidates appeared for interviews conducted between July 1-22. After completion of the interviews, the MPSC published a provisional general merit list comprising 488 candidates, including 485 of them declared eligible for appointment, said the statement.
However, complaints concerning the conduct of the screening examination were received by the commission between July 22-26 through e-mail from some candidates as well as public representatives.
According to the complaints, some candidates had allegedly received the question paper or questions before the examination. It was also alleged that the question material had been made available through social media and other electronic means.
The Opposition hit out at the BJP-led government over the alleged paper leak.
NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar alleged the leaked question paper was sold for Rs 40 lakh each to candidates.
Describing the leak as a serious issue concerning the credibility of the commission, the Opposition MLA demanded that its chairman take moral responsibility and resign immediately.
A leader of the ruling BJP said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has promised a thorough investigation and strict action against those found guilty.
State Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal accused the government of running a "bulldozer over the dreams" of thousands of young people, and said it should stop playing with the future of students.
"After NEET, TET, Talathi and CBSE paper leaks, now the MPSC drug inspector examination has also been found to be compromised. This is like running a bulldozer over the dreams of thousands of young people," Sapkal said.
Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar said the decision to cancel the recruitment process was a victory for candidates who had been protesting against the alleged paper leak.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Sandeep Deshpande questioned the government over the alleged paper leak.
"When the government knew that the paper got leaked why was an FIR not registered in this case
immediately?" he asked.
