THANE: Three persons have been arrested by the Bhiwandi police in the TET question paper leak case from the Kongaon area on the Kalyan–Bhiwandi border Saturday. The papers scheduled for Sunday have now been postponed.The police acting on tip-off intercepted the trio and recovered TET examination question papers from them. The accused have been identified as Rajeev Shah and Akash Kumar, both from Bihar, and Dheeraj Kumar from Haryana.DCP Pawan Bansod of Zone-2 said he received a tip-off that three individuals were en route to sell the question paper. Acting swiftly on the information, police laid a trap in the Kongaon area on the Kalyan–Bhiwandi border and detained all three accused around 11am.During the operation, police recovered four sets of TET examination question papers from the accused, along with debit and credit cards, raising further suspicion about the scale and nature of the racket.“The arrested accused have been identified as Rajeev Shah and Akash Kumar, both from Bihar, and Dheeraj Kumar from Haryana. The accused are aged between 28 and 45 years,” the police said.A case has been registered against them under Sections 318(4), 316(5), and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).Preliminary investigation indicates the papers were brought in from Delhi, while police suspect a larger organised syndicate may be operating behind the scenes. The alleged mastermind remains absconding, and a manhunt is underway.Investigators also revealed that around ₹1.5 crore was allegedly demanded for the paper deal, pointing to a high-value illegal operation.Authorities are now probing who the papers were meant to be sold to and the wider network involved. Strict action has been assured against all those found complicit.To crack the case further, a special investigation team comprising two ACPs and nine police inspectors has been formed. The team will conduct multi-state operations as part of the ongoing probe.
