The SIT found that the printing facility lacked basic security safeguards expected at a high-security establishment.

Thane: Serious security lapses at an Agra-based printing press that printed the Maharashtra Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) question papers enabled employees to leak the examination papers, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Thane police has found during its probe into the multi-state racket, reports Pradeep Gupta.Investigators said Mahim Patran Ltd, which has its corporate office in Delhi and a printing facility in Agra, has been printing examination papers for Maharashtra’s education department for several years, as well as handling confidential papers for various examinations across the country.However, the SIT found that the printing facility lacked basic security safeguards expected at a high-security establishment. According to investigators, several sensitive areas were not covered by CCTV cameras, and employee entry and exit checks were inadequate, making it easier to smuggle confidential documents off the premises.Police alleged that these security loopholes were exploited by two company employees, Babulal Kushwaha (45) and Naresh Mahaur alias Nicky (35), who allegedly stole the TET question papers from the press and passed them to ex-employee Sonu Kumar Diwakar (35), another accused in the case. Diwakar is said to have made photocopies of the leaked papers and, on the instructions of Bijendra, distributed them to other accused who travelled to Maharashtra to sell the papers.Diwakar, who on Monday surrendered before a Bhiwandi court, was formally arrested by the SIT and produced before the court on Tuesday. The court remanded him to police custody till Aug 2 for further investigation.Probe reveals that Sonu left Mahim Patran Ltd in 2018 and was in contact with the main accused, Bijendra Gupta, who planned the entire paper leak.Meanwhile, the SIT has found that a Pune-based suspect, who is on the run, is a Maharashtra govt employee.Police said the suspect, a Class IV employee in a govt department, had expressed interest in procuring the leaked question paper. Investigators have found that nearly 50 aspirants were in contact with him and were allegedly willing to buy copies of the leaked paper.“His arrest is crucial to ascertain whether the leaked paper had actually reached candidates and to identify the people who were to receive it,” a senior police officer associated with the investigation said.The SIT has also taken the main accused, Bijendra Gupta, who is in police custody till July 30, to Samastipur in Bihar to gather more evidence against him.