The Maharashtra government has appointed senior IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe as secretary of a committee investigating alleged paper leaks and irregularities in the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC). The decision followed an 11-day protest by government job aspirants in Pune, who had demanded action against those responsible for alleged malpractice and the removal of MPSC Chairman Vivek Bhimanwar.
The five-member panel will be headed by former Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court Dilip Bhosale. It has been asked to probe allegations of question paper leaks, review the commission’s functioning and recommend changes to its examination and recruitment process. The committee is expected to submit its report within two months.
Bhimanwar has announced that he will go on leave until the inquiry is completed. He made the announcement after talks between the state government and protesting candidates late on Sunday (October 11). The government also agreed to withdraw criminal cases registered against the students.
What MPSC inquiry panel will examine
Apart from Mundhe and Bhosale, the committee includes Inspector General of Police Laxmi Gautam, retired IAS officer Ganesh Patil and former judge P D Naik. Its mandate includes investigating alleged paper leaks in MPSC examinations, examining the commission’s functioning and addressing difficulties faced by candidates during the examination process.
The agitation had intensified following allegations of a question paper leak in the Drug Inspector examination held in March. Aspirants had demanded accountability within the state recruitment body and called for the commission’s resignation. The government agreed to appoint an inquiry panel and keep the chairman away from office until the investigation is completed as part of the settlement with the protesters
Bhimanwar announced his decision in a post on X after the government declared the judicial inquiry. “The state government has announced a judicial inquiry into the MPSC paper leak case. Throughout my life, I have always given utmost priority to morality. Therefore, I have decided to go on leave during this period rather than continuing to hold office until the inquiry is completed,” he said.
He also wrote that the “autonomy, credibility and the welfare of students of the MPSC” had always been his priority.
Recruitment demands, cases against protesters
The inquiry was one of several demands raised during the agitation at S M Joshi Bridge in Pune. The candidates also sought a recruitment plan covering 70,000 government posts over three years, an increase in vacancies for the Group C examination scheduled for January and background checks on candidates appointed as MPSC chairman and secretary.
The government said it would address these demands. It also agreed to withdraw cases registered against some representatives of the protest. The police had booked 15 protest representatives over allegations of holding the agitation without permission, obstructing traffic and violating prohibitory orders.
Five people were separately booked over the alleged use of a drone at the protest site.
Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MLA Rohit Pawar joined the aspirants during the agitation and met Public Works Department Minister Shivendra Raje Bhosale and Congress MLA Vishwajeet Kadam. Pawar welcomed Mundhe’s appointment to the panel, saying, “We hope the committee will have the freedom to work properly.”
The candidates called off their protest late Sunday night after the government accepted their demand to keep Bhimanwar away from the chairman’s post until the inquiry was completed.
