Kolhapur: Police in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur district have uncovered an alleged racket involved in leaking the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) question paper and helping candidates clear the exam through fraudulent means, officials said on Tuesday.

The TET, a mandatory qualifying exam for recruiting teachers in primary and upper primary schools, was held on 23 November.

Acting on a tip-off that the question paper was being circulated for money on the eve of the exam, a joint team from the Local Crime Branch and Murgud police carried out a raid at a furniture shop in Songe village, Kagal tehsil, early on the morning of the test. Officers found five candidates at the premises who were due to sit the TET later that day.

“When asked, they said that one Rahul Patil was expected to arrive with the leaked question paper,” a police official said.

Patil and two others were detained, and during questioning Patil allegedly admitted that the key accused, Mahesh Gaikwad, had promised to supply him with the TET paper. Patil was to hand it over to the candidates for ₹3 lakh, the official added.

Gaikwad was later arrested in Karad, Satara district.

“So far, we have arrested 18 persons in the case and the number may rise as the probe progresses,” the official said. “The involvement of more individuals, including facilitators and beneficiaries of the leak, is being investigated. We are also verifying the financial transactions linked to the scam,” he said.