Pune MPSC protest: Aspirants demand chairman’s resignation, transparency in recruitment exams
A large number of Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) aspirants took to the streets in Pune on Monday, demanding greater transparency in the state’s recruitment examinations and a probe into alleged paper leaks, evaluation errors and other irregularities.
The protesters marched from Omkareshwar Temple Chowk to the Pune District Collectorate, where they raised a series of demands concerning the functioning of the commission and the conduct of competitive examinations. They called for the resignation of MPSC chairman Vivek Bhimanwar and secretary and sought the appointment of officials with a “clean image” to the commission.
NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar and Congress MLA Vishwajit Kadam joined the demonstration and extended support to the aspirants. Pawar said the government should act on the students’ demands, stressing that the agitation was being led by MPSC aspirants rather than any political party.
Among the key demands was an eight-day deadline for the MPSC to respond to objections concerning the Drug Inspector (Group-B) examination and initiate an inquiry into alleged irregularities. Aspirants also sought an investigation into alleged errors in the evaluation of descriptive papers in the 2025 State Services Main and Agricultural Services examinations.
The protesters further demanded that the preliminary inquiry report submitted by the Mumbai Crime Branch to the MPSC be made public. The Crime Branch is investigating the alleged leak of the Drug Inspector (Group-B) screening examination paper held in March.
The agitation comes after the MPSC cancelled the Drug Inspector recruitment examination and announced that a fresh examination would be held following the leak controversy. Six people, including three MPSC officials, were initially arrested in the case, while the arrest of a woman candidate who had secured seventh rank took the total number of arrests to seven.
Investigators have alleged that the leaked paper reached candidates before the examination. Police have also been examining the alleged role of MPSC officials and individuals linked to a coaching institute. The investigation has included recovery of an MPSC official’s laptop and efforts to establish how the question paper was accessed and circulated.
The aspirants have demanded a forensic audit of examinations conducted during the tenure of arrested MPSC under-secretary Abhijit Lendwe. They also want scrutiny of the service records and promotion criteria of Lendwe and the two arrested assistant section officers, Vishweshwar Dattatraya Nakate and Gopal Bhattu Marathe.
Other demands include examination of call detail records of candidates allegedly selected through the contacts of the accused, an investigation into the possible involvement of intermediaries, and an independent probe into suspicious results and other examinations where students have raised concerns.
The protesters also called for strict measures to ensure transparency in the Group-C preliminary examination scheduled for October 25, 2026, and sought the revival of the stenographer post.
Meanwhile, MPSC chairman Vivek Bhimanwar has rejected demands for his resignation, saying the Drug Inspector paper leak occurred before he assumed charge of the commission. He has said that the MPSC has constituted an internal high-level committee to recommend measures to prevent such incidents, while the state government has separately formed a committee to review and improve the recruitment examination system.
The Maharashtra government’s newly constituted high-level panel is examining ways to improve transparency, security and reliability in recruitment examinations, with consultations planned with students, parents, teachers, coaching institutes and other stakeholders.
with inputs from PTI
