Thane: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Thane City Police, which is probing the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) paper leak, has arrested three employees of an Agra-based private printing company who had direct access to question papers during the printing and packing process.The arrested accused Nareshkumar Puranchand Mahore alias Nikki, Sanjaykumar Sureshchandra Sharma, and Babulal Narayansinh Kushwahay are suspected of exploiting that access to smuggle the papers out of the secure facility before the examination. They are all associated with Mahim Patran Pvt Ltd, Agra. During a body search, three live 7.65 mm calibre cartridges were recovered from Sanjaykumar’s possession, prompting a separate probe into how he obtained live ammunition, police said.With these three, the number of arrested accused has risen to 10.According to police, Babulal allegedly handed over question paper sets to Nareshkumar, who hid and smuggled them out of the press. Sanjaykumar and his accomplice Sonukumar Kishanlal allegedly facilitated the removal. Though Sanjaykumar was removed from his post as packing head two years ago, he had previously headed the department and worked closely with Sonukumar for three years, establishing a long-standing connection that investigators believe was central to the conspiracy, said Panjabrao Ugale, joint commissioner (crime), Thane Police.In what investigators are calling the most glaring lapse in the entire episode, no govt agency had deployed any vigilance personnel at the private printing company’s premises at any point during the printing and packing of the question papers.The SIT is tracking financial transactions and digital trails linking the arrested individuals to suspected kingpins Bijendra Kumar Gupta and Sonukumar Kishanlal, both of whom remain at large. Police are also investigating whether the network was involved in leaking papers for other public examinations in the past.
