MPSC Drug Inspector Exam Paper Leak: Ex-Boyfriend Reported Leak After Breakup, Rutuja Patil Among 7 Arrested, 77 of 294 Questions Match

Mumbai, September 3, 2026: The Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) Drug Inspector Group-B recruitment examination has been canceled after a preliminary inquiry revealed that some questions were leaked before the examination and at least one candidate was provided with them.

The Mumbai Crime Branch has now arrested seven persons, including three MPSC officials and a candidate who secured the seventh rank in the examination.

The screening exam for 154 positions of Drug Inspector with the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration Department took place on March 22, 2026, at the six divisional head offices in Maharashtra.

The advertisement for the recruitment took place in July 2025; the results were announced on June 12, when 506 candidates were found to be eligible for interviews. Of them, 488 went on to take the interviews which were held between July 1 and 22. The commission then issued a provisional merit list.

The claim of a leak came to the attention of the MPSC between July 22 and 26. On July 27 the commission went to the Mumbai Police Commissioner and asked for an investigation by the Crime Branch. A preliminary inquiry concluded that, on the face of it, one of the candidates had obtained the question paper before the exam and had taken advantage of it.

Investigators say the leaked documents had 294 questions from the confidential pool. The police found that 77 of those questions showed up on the actual exam. They also claim Rutuja Patil got the questions before the March 22 exam. She was told to get 10 questions wrong on purpose, to avoid a super high score looking suspicious. In the end, she got seventh place.

The investigation has identified three MPSC officials among the six people arrested initially: Assistant Section Officers Vishweshwar Dattatraya Nakate and Gopal Bhattu Marathe, and Under Secretary Abhijit Ganpatrao Lendwe. The other initial accused were Kautilya Academy director Pravin Dilip Patil, schoolteacher Amrut Namdeo Patil and Lokesh alias Gaurav Rajendra Patil.

Investigators are now looking at the relationship between Rutuja Patil and Lokesh, also known as Gaurav Rajendra Patil, as they try to trace how the exam questions were allegedly leaked. Investigators are saying the two were dating at the time.

According to the police, Gaurav received the exam questions before the test and shared them with Rutuja. Investigators allege that she later forwarded the questions to him on WhatsApp.

Reports suggest that the couple broke up after the examination. Gaurav then reportedly went to the MPSC to file a complaint about the alleged paper leak, police said. However, investigators have arrested him after allegedly finding the same material in his possession. Some reports link his decision to report the matter to the breakup, although police are still trying to establish why he came forward.

Rutuja was arrested on September 1 in Nandurbar, making the total number of arrests seven. On September 2, a court remanded her in police custody until September 5, while the six others arrested earlier were remanded in custody until September 7. The Crime Branch has seized Nakate's laptop, an employee of MPSC. According to the investigators, 294 questions were recorded on this laptop. The police are trying to recover the deleted data from this computer.

The other investigation line pertains to the money paid for the questions of the examination. 

According to the police, Rs 5 lakh was arranged by Rutuja's father and is alleged to have been handed over to a coaching center owner and a middleman. According to the WhatsApp chats recovered during the investigation, Rutuja told a friend that she had paid Rs 50 lakh for the Drug Inspector examination. However, the police have not confirmed that this amount was paid, as these two are different allegations and are being investigated separately.

On August 25, the MPSC cancelled the entire recruitment process and announced that a fresh examination would be conducted. Candidates who participated in the cancelled examination will not need to submit a new application or pay an additional examination fee.

MPSC has not yet announced a date for the re-examination. Chairman Vivek Bhimanwar has denied involvement in the alleged leak, saying it took place in January 2026, before he became chairman. He said the commission has formed a high-level internal committee to suggest measures to strengthen examination security.

The state government has formed a separate committee to suggest changes to the MPSC exam process. The Crime Branch is meanwhile trying to establish how the confidential questions were accessed and circulated, and is also looking into financial transactions connected to the case.

Investigators are also checking whether other candidates received the questions or whether similar leaks may have occurred in previous examinations. Police said they are examining candidates who scored more than 120 out of 200 marks.

(Rh/MSM)