Maharashtra Plans Online TET From Next Year After Alleged Paper Leak

Mumbai: Following the alleged leak of the 2026 Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) question paper, the Maharashtra government plans to conduct the TET and other departmental examinations online from next year, Education Minister Dada Bhuse announced in the State Assembly on Monday.

Making a statement in the Assembly, Mr. Bhuse said the move is aimed at improving transparency and discipline in the examination process.

"The government intends to hold TET and other examinations online to bring transparency and discipline in the process. To create the infrastructure required for conducting online examinations, a committee headed by the Chief Secretary is being set up," the minister said.

The announcement came a day after the alleged leak of the TET 2026 question paper forced the postponement of the examination scheduled for last Sunday.

The issue triggered protests by Opposition parties, which criticised the State government over repeated examination paper leaks and demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe. Proceedings in both the Maharashtra Assembly and the Legislative Council were disrupted. In the Council, Opposition members staged protests, forcing the House to be adjourned for 30 minutes. They also demanded Mr. Bhuse's resignation.

The alleged leak came to light after the Bhiwandi police received a tip-off that a group from Delhi and Haryana had travelled to Mumbai to sell the question paper. Acting on the information, police raided the Kongaon area in Thane district and arrested three persons — Akash Kumar (30) and Rajiv Shah (45), both from Patna in Bihar, and Dhiraj Kumar (28) from Panipat in Haryana. Four sets of question papers were recovered during the operation.

The three accused were produced before Judicial Magistrate S.M. Sutar on Sunday and remanded to eight days of police custody.

During interrogation, the accused allegedly identified Bijender Gupta, a Bihar resident, as the mastermind behind the operation. Police told the court that Gupta is allegedly linked to at least 20 examination paper leak cases across several States. Another suspect, Kapil Dahia of Haryana, was also named. Both men are absconding.

Ashok Dudhe, Additional Commissioner of Police (Thane Western Zone), confirmed that Gupta and Dahia have been declared wanted. Police also informed the court that the question papers were allegedly being traded in deals worth crores of rupees.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has expanded its probe beyond Maharashtra, dispatching two teams to Bihar and one team each to Delhi and Haryana to dismantle the suspected interstate network.