Bhiwandi: Police probing the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) paper leak said that the accused stole defective copies from a disposal box and concealed them inside their shoes before passing them on to the alleged kingpin of the racket.Investigators said question papers with minor printing defects or ink marks were discarded in a disposal box inside the printing press. During the investigation, police found that the disposal area lacked adequate surveillance, enabling two workers to allegedly retrieve the rejected papers before they were destroyed.According to police sources, Babulal Kushwaha, a printing press employee for nearly 20 years, allegedly stole the defective question papers from the disposal box during the printing process. He allegedly took the help of Naresh Kumar Mahaur alias Niki, a temporary worker employed on an hourly basis, to conceal the papers beneath the soles of their shoes and smuggle them out of the premises.Investigators said that the papers were then handed over to former printing press employee Sonu Diwakar, who passed them on to Sanjay Sharma before they finally reached the alleged mastermind, Bijendra Gupta.Police sources said Bijendra had earlier tasked Sonu with monitoring the printing press and alerting him whenever confidential examination papers were printed. Sonu allegedly maintained contact with Kushwaha and Niki, who informed him once TET paper printing began.Investigators further claimed that Kushwaha, who reportedly earned around Rs 15,000 a month, and Niki, who was paid Rs 45 per hour and earned about Rs 400-500 a day during peak work periods, were allegedly promised financial rewards for their role.Police alleged that Bijendra initially paid the two around Rs 8,000 to facilitate the theft and assured them that he would buy them plots from the proceeds earned after selling the leaked papers.Meanwhile, after completing 15 days of police custody, all 15 accused were produced before a Bhiwandi court on Monday. The court remanded them in judicial custody.DCP Pawan Bansod dismissed news reports that said the accused were planning to leak examination papers for recruitment of assistant professors in colleges and universities.
