Maharashtra TET paper leak: Mastermind’s wife held in Patna, SIT widens manhunt

Police said a similar case has also been registered against Gupta in Odisha, and efforts are underway to obtain details from the concerned police station. Investigators found that Gupta was in constant contact with absconding accused Kapil Shrikrishna Dahiya and arrested accused Dhiraj Singh, Akash Kumar and Rajiv Kumar.

According to police, Gupta’s close aide Kapil Dahiya accompanied Dhiraj Singh to Kongaon in Bhiwandi to identify buyers for the leaked TET question papers. However, a day before the arrests, Dahiya left for Pune. After learning about the arrests of Dhiraj, Akash and Rajiv, he allegedly boarded a flight to Delhi and has since gone underground.

Thane Police has initiated the process to issue a Look-Out Circular (LOC) against the absconding accused.

During interrogation, investigators learned that Dhiraj and Kapil had arrived in Bhiwandi several days before the examination to scout for prospective buyers, primarily operators of coaching classes preparing students for the TET exam.

Acting on a tip-off, Deputy Commissioner of Police Bansode launched a covert operation in which a police inspector posed as a prospective buyer. Once convinced they had found a customer, the accused allegedly alerted Gupta, who dispatched Rajiv and Akash with four sets of leaked question papers.

Police laid a trap at a hotel in Kongaon and arrested Dhiraj, Akash and Rajiv while they were allegedly attempting to sell the papers. Kapil, who was part of the conspiracy, had already left for Pune in search of another buyer, an officer said.

The Maharashtra TET examination, scheduled to be held on Sunday at 1,028 centres across the state, was postponed after the leak surfaced. The state government subsequently constituted an SIT to probe the case and identify all those involved in the alleged interstate conspiracy.