Bhiwandi/Patna: Thane police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing the state Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) paper leak case, arrested three more accused on Thursday, including the alleged close aide of absconding mastermind Bijendra Gupta, taking the total number of arrests in the case to seven.The prime accused, Kapil Dahiya (30), was picked up from his native village in Sonipat, Haryana. The other two, identified as Mithun Kumar Singh (33), and Sonu Kumar Singh (34), were arrested from Bihar for allegedly helping Gupta evade arrest by preparing forged identity documents.Police produced all three before a Bhiwandi court, which remanded them to police custody till July 9.According to the SIT, Dahiya was present in Bhiwandi on the day the police arrested the three accused while they were allegedly negotiating the sale of the leaked TET question paper a day before the examination.However, investigators said Dahiya left for Pune to allegedly deliver or sell the leaked paper to another prospective buyer.Defence counsel Narendra Gupta argued that Dahiya merely came to Mumbai as a tourist and was arrested only on suspicion without any direct evidence linking him to the crime. Police told the court that Sonu Kumar Singh allegedly arranged a vehicle belonging to Mithun Kumar Singh to facilitate Gupta’s escape after the case came to light. During a raid at Sonu’s Quick Enterprises, investigators allegedly recovered a computer containing scanned copies of forged identity documents bearing Gupta’s photograph but prepared in the fake name of Abhishek Mahto. The documents included an Aadhaar card, PAN card and driving licence, which police believe were created to help the absconding accused conceal his identity.Investigators also seized several question papers from the shop, which are suspected to be related to the leaked TET examination. The documents have been sent for forensic examination to determine whether they match the leaked paper circulated before the exam.Sonu’s brother said, “When we reached the cyber cafe, we found that a raid was under way. The investigation team told us Sonu was arrested in connection with the Maharashtra TET paper leak case. They are also searching for my younger brother Vikas, who lives in Patna,” he said. (Inputs by Kshitiz)