The Mumbai crime branch has arrested an alleged mediator in the MPSC drug inspector examination paper leak case, accusing him of helping transfer a photocopy of the question paper and Rs 5 lakh between a coaching academy owner and the father of a candidate.
Mayur Thackeray, who was arrested in Mumbai on Monday, was produced before a court and remanded in police custody until October 17. He is the 10th person arrested in connection with the case, according to the crime branch.
Police said Thackeray allegedly acted as an intermediary in the transaction involving the leaked examination paper. Investigators are still determining how much he is alleged to have earned from the deal.
The arrest followed a search for Thackeray after his name emerged during the investigation. According to the crime branch, he had gone into hiding in Nandurbar, Nashik and Mumbai. “Our team had been trailing him. On Monday, based on specific intelligence, our team arrested him from Mumbai,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Raj Tilak Roshan said.
The case centres on allegations that a photocopy of the question paper for the Maharashtra Public Service Commission’s drug inspector examination was passed on to a candidate’s family through the alleged mediator. The reported exchange involved the owner of a coaching academy and the father of the candidate.
The candidate, Rutuja Patil, had secured high marks in the examination. She is in police custody along with her father, Amrut Patil, and the coaching academy’s owner, Pravin Patil, the report said. The police investigation is examining the roles of those arrested and the movement of the alleged payment and examination material.
The arrest brings another intermediary into a case that has raised questions about the security of competitive recruitment examinations and the channels through which confidential examination material can allegedly be accessed and circulated. The immediate investigation, however, remains focused on establishing the accused persons’ individual roles and tracing the financial details of the alleged transaction.
Thackeray’s police custody will continue until October 17, during which investigators are expected to question him about the alleged exchange, his movements after the case surfaced and the extent of his involvement in the paper leak.
