3 min readMumbai, PuneJun 28, 2026 11:18 AM IST
First published on: Jun 27, 2026 at 01:50 PM IST
The Maharashtra Teacher Eligibility Test (TET), scheduled for Sunday, was postponed Saturday after a question paper leak was detected in the Bhiwandi area of Thane district.
While Thane police have arrested three persons in this connection, a Special Investigation Team has been formed to probe the question paper leak.
According to a press note issued by the Secretary of the Maharashtra State Council of Examination, a raid was conducted early Saturday morning in the Bhiwandi area based on information received by police. Police found a few individuals in alleged possession of pages from the sealed TET 2026 question paper packet.
Police then called Council officials to the spot who confirmed that questions from the exam paper matched those in the possession of the individuals. An FIR was then lodged with Bhiwandi police.
The Council, which postponed the examination, did not announce a new date.
“The exam has been postponed to ensure transparency,” the Council said.
The exam was to be held at 1028 centres this Sunday.
“Keeping in mind the malpractices during the NEET 2026 examination, all security measures had been taken by the Maharashtra State Council of Examination,” the Council said.
Addressing the media, Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Dudhe said that on Saturday morning, Thane City Police DCP (Zone II) Dr Pawan Bansod received a tip-off that three persons had come to a hotel in the Kongaon area of Bhiwandi to sell the TET exam question paper.
ExplainedTET ever since 2013
The TET in Maharashtra has been held since 2013. There is no limit on the number of attempts. In-service teachers, unable to clear the test until August 2028, will have to take retirement. The TET is mandatory for appointment as a teacher in primary and secondary schools.
The police team conducted a raid and found three persons in the hotel room with four sets of exam papers.
“We asked an official from the education department to confirm if these were the same papers that were to be used Sunday during the exams. After getting confirmation that these were the same papers, we placed the three accused under arrest. While one accused is from Haryana, the other two are from Bihar. All three had come to the city from Delhi,” Dudhe said.
Police identified the three men as Rajiv Kumar, Aakash Kumar and Dheeraj Singh.
According to an officer, the accused hoped to earn Rs 1.5 crore from the buyers who were to take delivery of the question papers.
While the police did not reveal the identity of the buyers or the “mastermind” of the gang, Dudhe said that of the three accused, one had paid the other to get employment with a Kendriya Vidyalaya in the past while another had taken the TET exam unsuccessfully earlier.
Dudhe said a 20-member SIT headed by DCP Pawan Bansod had been formed to investigate the matter and some of their teams had fanned out across the country to track down the other accused.
Maharashtra TET has two papers, Paper 1 and Paper 2, and both were scheduled to happen on the same day but in separate time slots. (Image: AI generated) 
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