The Maharashtra government has formed a five-member committee to investigate alleged paper leaks and irregularities in examinations conducted by the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC), including the tenures of current and former chairpersons and members.
The government on Sunday appointed senior IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner, as secretary of the panel. Former judge Dilip Bhosale will head the committee, while IPS officer Laxmi Gautam, former IAS officer Ganesh Patil and retired judge P D Naik will serve as members.
State minister Shivendraraje Bhosale announced the panel's composition on Sunday after meeting MPSC aspirants who had been protesting at SM Joshi Bridge in Pune for 10 days, demanding reforms in the commission. The protesters later called off their agitation.
Following the announcement, MPSC chairman Vivek Bhimanwar said he had proceeded on leave until the inquiry was completed.
The protesters' demands included the withdrawal of cases against some representatives of the agitation, recruitment for 70,000 posts over three years, an increase in the number of seats in the Group C examination scheduled for January, and background checks on the MPSC chairman and secretary before their appointment.
Bhosale told the protesters that their other demands would also be addressed.
Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MLA Rohit Pawar, who had joined the agitation, welcomed Mundhe's inclusion in the committee and expressed hope that it would be able to conduct an independent probe.
"We hope that the committee will have the freedom to work properly," Pawar said.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had announced last week that the government was prepared to set up an inquiry committee after aspirants demanded action against Bhimanwar over alleged paper leaks that occurred before he became the commission's chairman.
Fadnavis said the government had proposed a judicial inquiry into the tenures of current and former MPSC chairpersons and members. If the committee finds misconduct by the chairperson, its recommendation would be sent to the President of India under Article 317 of the Constitution, which deals with the removal and suspension of public service commission chairpersons and members.
Pawar said the inquiry was necessary for the "purification" of the MPSC and expressed confidence that Mundhe's inclusion would help ensure a transparent investigation.
12 arrested in Drug Inspector exam paper leak case
Separately, the Mumbai Crime Branch on Monday arrested Mayur Chandrakant Thakre in connection with the MPSC paper leak case, taking the total number of arrests to 12.
According to Mumbai Police, the Crime Branch's Property Cell arrested Thakre on October 12. He was produced before a court and remanded to police custody until October 17. Further investigation is underway.
The arrest follows the MPSC's decision to cancel the entire recruitment process for the post of Drug Inspector in the FDA department after an investigation reportedly found that a candidate had gained prior access to the question paper.
On August 26, the Crime Branch arrested six people in connection with the breach of confidentiality surrounding the MPSC Drug Inspector (Group-B) examination.
Police said the investigation found that the accused had illegally obtained questions from the examination set. A case was registered under the Maharashtra Competitive Examination (Prevention of Malpractices) Act, 2024, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
The MPSC had launched a preliminary inquiry after receiving complaints about alleged malpractice in the screening examination held on March 22.
The commission had advertised the Drug Inspector posts on July 29, 2025. The screening examination was conducted offline on March 22 at six divisional headquarters across Maharashtra, and the results were declared on June 12.
A total of 506 candidates qualified for interviews. The commission conducted interviews for 488 candidates between July 1 and July 22 and subsequently published a provisional general merit list containing 488 candidates, of whom 485 were eligible and three were ineligible.
Between July 22 and July 26, the commission received complaints from candidates and public representatives alleging that some candidates had obtained the question paper or questions before the examination on March 20, and that the material had subsequently circulated through social media or other electronic media.
(With agency inputs from ANI and PTI)
