MPSC paper leak case: two more toppers who skipped exam arrested, tally hits 11

The Mumbai Police Crime Branch has made another major move in the paper leak case linked to the Maharashtra Public Service Commission's Drug Inspector examination. Police have arrested two candidates who had topped the interim merit list after obtaining the paper before the exam, along with two middlemen. With this latest arrest, the total number of accused arrested in the scam has risen to 11.

Details emerging from the investigation are startling. Arrested accused Sajid Sande had scored 152.50 marks and ranked third on the merit list, while Vijay Kingar ranked fourth with 156 marks. Rituja Patil, arrested earlier, had also scored 155 marks and ranked seventh.

The Crime Branch has now caught these suspect candidates who scored the highest marks. Police arrested Sajid Sande from Sangola and Vijay Kingar from Buldhana. Sales tax inspector Sandeep Khalate and Bhairavnath Kadam, a civil technician with the Indian Navy, who worked as middlemen, were arrested from Navi Mumbai.

The investigation had earlier revealed that MPSC Under Secretary Abhijit Lendve leaked the paper through middlemen. Along with him, Vishweshwar Nakate, Gopal Marathe, Praveen Patil and some other middlemen had already been arrested. All the accused are currently in judicial custody.

In the interim merit list of 488 candidates released on July 22, most students had scored up to only 121 marks. However, candidates who scored far higher while performing only averagely in other exams had come under suspicion. This action now appears to confirm the police's suspicion. MPSC had conducted this exam on March 22, 2026, at six centres. A case has been registered under serious sections in the matter, and it is suspected that the role of some more candidates may come to light during the investigation.