Bhiwandi/Patna: The special investigation team (SIT) set up for the Maharashtra Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) paper leak case arrested Suman Gupta, wife of the main absconding accused, Bijendra Gupta, from her residence in Samastipur in Bihar late on Monday.Suman was produced before a Bhiwandi court, which remanded her in police custody till July 6.Suman was the fourth person arrested in the case. Besides her husband, another key accused, Kapil Dahiya, remains on the run.The police said Suman was suspected of playing a key financial role in the racket by managing the proceeds generated from the alleged paper leak. The police said they were examining her involvement in handling illegal money transfers and maintaining communication with members of the network after the question paper was allegedly leaked.The police said that financial transactions had taken place between the couple and that she assisted Bijendra in evading arrest.Bijendra was an accused in examination paper leak cases in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha. He was arrested in an Odisha paper leak case and was currently out on bail.Bijendra’s family in Samastipur distanced itself from him. His father, Baleshwar Sah, said his son had left the village years ago to pursue higher studies and later lost contact with the family. He claimed they were unaware of his activities and expressed shock over his alleged involvement in a major examination fraud case.The police suspect the Maharashtra TET paper might have been leaked from Mahim Patran Pvt Ltd, a printing company based in Agra, where the state education department had been getting examination papers printed for several years.The SIT is questioning employees of the printing company to ascertain whether there was any internal involvement in the alleged leak. Police officials said crucial details regarding the conspiracy, including who helped leak the paper and the modus operandi, are likely to emerge only after Bijendra Gupta is arrested.To prevent the two absconding accused from fleeing the country, the police have issued look-out circulars (LOCs) against Bijendra and Dahiya.When Suman Gupta was produced in court, defence counsel Shailesh Gaikwad opposed the custody plea, maintaining that she was innocent. He argued that there were no financial transactions between Suman and Bijendra related to the alleged offence and that merely speaking to her husband over the phone could not constitute a crime. He contended that she had been arrested solely because she was the wife of the absconding accused.
