Paper leak, money demand and surrender to God: WhatsApp chats reveal MPSC plot

Rutuja Patil, a 25-year-old candidate who secured the 7th rank on the provisional merit list for the Maharashtra Public Service Commission's (MPSC) drug inspector's examination held on March 22, 2023, was allegedly given instructions to answer ten questions incorrectly by the accused. The reasoning behind this directive was to avoid drawing attention to the examination due to the test's significance following a decade-long hiatus.

The leak of 77 questions from the final question paper set, out of 294, led to the finalization of the exam. Rutuja was instructed by the other accused individuals that answering all 100 questions correctly would raise suspicions. According to a source, Rutuja answered 91 questions correctly, including the 77 she had prior access to, and 14 other questions.

The leak occurred through a series of individuals, starting with Vishveshwar Nakate, an Assistant Section Officer from MPSC, who typed out 300 questions on a laptop and handed them to Abhijit Lendve, Under Secretary of the Public Service Commission, in the commission's office parking lot. From there, the question set passed to Gopal Marathe, Pravin Patil, Rutuja's father, and eventually to Rutuja herself.

She then shared the paper with her boyfriend, Gaurav Patil, two days before the examination. However, Gaurav's brother did not pass the exam, and Gaurav claims it was due to sibling rivalry. Police believe Gaurav's refusal to admit receiving the paper was to avoid paying his share of a ₹5 lakh payment made by Rutuja's father. The police are investigating potential reasons for the couple's breakup, including a dispute over sharing the payment.

Additionally, Rutuja's family did not approve of her marriage to Gaurav, causing her to stay away from him. Six individuals have been arrested so far, with two others, including Rutuja, named as wanted accused. The arrested individuals are currently in police custody until September 2.