The MPSC students’ protest on Pune’s S M Joshi Bridge was called off late Sunday after the Maharashtra government announced a high-level committee to investigate alleged irregularities in examinations conducted by the Maharashtra Public Service Commission. The decision followed talks led by minister Shivendraraje Bhosale, with the government accepting most of the students’ demands, according to a report by Pudhari.
The committee will be headed by Justice Dilip Bhosale and is expected to submit a detailed report within two months. IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe has been appointed as the committee’s secretary. The panel will examine the allegations surrounding the commission’s examinations and will also investigate and recommend action on the demand for the resignation of MPSC chairman Vivek Bhimanwar.
The protest had continued on the S M Joshi Bridge in Pune for several days, drawing thousands of MPSC aspirants. It concluded amid celebrations after the government’s response, the report said. The location had become the focal point of the students’ agitation over what they described as alleged examination-related wrongdoing and irregularities.
Bhimanwar will remain on leave until the inquiry into the alleged paper leak and examination irregularities is completed. In a statement quoted in the report, he said he had always given priority to ethics throughout his life and had therefore decided not to remain in office during the inquiry period.
The government’s decision places the committee at the centre of the next stage of the dispute. Its findings are expected to determine how the allegations are assessed and whether the concerns raised by the students require administrative or institutional action. The committee’s two-month deadline also sets a formal timeline for the inquiry, although the supplied report does not provide details of its terms of reference or the procedures it will follow.
The episode has brought the functioning of Maharashtra’s public recruitment system into sharper focus. For candidates preparing for competitive examinations, the credibility of the examination process is directly linked to confidence in appointments to government services. The protest also affected a key public location in Pune, where the mobilisation of thousands of students required coordination with the police and city administration.
Nationalist Congress Party leader Rohit Pawar congratulated the students in a social media post and thanked the government, the administration, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, minister Shivendraraje Bhosale and the police administration for their cooperation. The immediate next step is the committee’s inquiry, which is scheduled to examine the allegations and submit its report within two months.
