Mumbai Court Seeks 7-Day Custody Of 7 Accused In MPSC Paper Leak Case

A Mumbai court heard a plea from the Crime Branch on Wednesday to grant a seven-day custody of seven accused in the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) Drug Inspector examination paper leak case.

The accused were produced before the Sessions Court, and the Crime Branch sought their custodial interrogation to uncover the entire conspiracy behind the paper leak.

According to the Crime Branch, the accused were not cooperating with the investigation, and their custodial interrogation was necessary to gather more evidence.

During the investigation, the Crime Branch seized a laptop belonging to Vishweshwar Nakate, an MPSC official, who allegedly had recorded all 294 questions along with their options on the device.

The police claimed that Nakate was preparing to destroy the laptop, which could contain crucial evidence related to the leaked question set.

The investigators are now attempting to recover deleted and other data from the device.

The Crime Branch also recovered financial records from Pravin Patil, director of Kautilya Academy, who is among the accused in the case.

The investigators are examining the records to trace the alleged monetary transactions involved in obtaining and distributing the leaked question set.

Rutuja Patil, who was arrested from Nandurbar on Tuesday, is also among the seven accused.

The Crime Branch has sought custody to conduct face-to-face questioning of Rutuja with the other accused, particularly to verify their statements and establish the sequence through which the leaked question set allegedly reached her.

The first six accused have reportedly been remanded to police custody until September 7.

The court will hear the police's request for further custody of the accused, including Rutuja Patil, as investigators continue to probe the source of the 294-question set, the alleged financial transactions, and the role of each accused.

The MPSC Drug Inspector examination paper leak case has raised concerns about the integrity of the examination process and the involvement of officials and coaching classes in the leak.

The investigation is ongoing, and the Crime Branch is working to uncover the entire conspiracy behind the paper leak.

The case has significant implications for the candidates who appeared for the examination and the overall fairness of the recruitment process.

The Mumbai Crime Branch is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that those responsible for the paper leak are brought to justice and that the examination process is protected from such malpractices in the future.