Thane, Maharashtra (PTI): A suspect in the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) paper leak case surrendered before a court in Bhiwandi on Monday, following which he was arrested, taking the total number of those held to 15, an official said.

Defence counsel, advocate Shailesh Gaikwad said, Sonu Kumar Diwakar surrendered following the arrest of the main kingpin Bijendra Gupta.

Upon his surrender, the court directed the police to submit their plea regarding custody, after which the Bhiwandi police formally took custody of Diwakar for further interrogation, Gaikwad added.

Of the 14 persons held earlier, 12 are in judicial custody, while alleged mastermind Gupta and his aide Indrajit Singh are in police custody.

Advocate Gaikwad said the bail applications filed on behalf of Gupta's wife Suman Kumari as well as co-accused Naresh Kumar Mahaur, Sanjay Kumar Sharma and Mithun Kumar will be heard by the Bhiwandi court on July 29.

The initial FIR in the paper leak case was registered by Bhiwandi police on June 26.

The paper leak racket was exposed a day prior to the TET 2026 examination after Bhiwandi police received a specific tip-off that a gang from Delhi had arrived here to sell the TET question paper sets for Rs 1.5 crore.

Under the guidance of DCP Pawan Bansod, a police team laid a trap along Mumbai-Nashik Highway under Kongaon police station and intercepted three persons. seizing mobile phones, cash, and four sets of TET question papers.

Subsequent verification by Maharashtra State Council of Examinations confirmed that the seized papers matched the actual examination papers, leading to the registration of an FIR at the local police station, officials said.

This report was published from a wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.