Tukaram Mundhe Named Secretary Of Panel Probing MPSC Paper Leaks As Pune Aspirants End Protest

MPSC aspirants in Pune ended their 10-day agitation early Monday after the Maharashtra government set up a five-member judicial inquiry panel to look into allegations of paper leaks and how the Maharashtra Public Service Commission is functioning. The panel is headed by former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court Dilip Bhosale, IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe is its secretary and the government said the committee will recommend an overhaul of the commission.

MPSC chairman Vivek Bhimanwar said he would go on leave until the inquiry is completed. Soon after that, the protesters ended their sit-in at S M Joshi Bridge in Pune, where hundreds of students had spent 10 days pressing their demands over alleged leaks, reforms and accountability, Times of India reported.

“MPSC students' satyagraha finally victorious. Victory of unity, determination.. and perseverance,” NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar said in a post on X. Bhimanwar also wrote on X: “The state government has announced a judicial inquiry into the MPSC paper leak case. Throughout my entire life, I have always prioritized ethics. Therefore, I have decided to go on leave during this period instead of continuing to serve in the post until this inquiry is completed. The autonomy, credibility, and interests of students of the MPSC have always been my priority, and they will continue to be so in the future,” he said.

Protesters' Core Demands

The protest centred on alleged paper leaks in MPSC examinations. It was led and backed by NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar and Congress MLA Vishwajeet Kadam.

They pressed for action in the Drug Inspector exam leak case, wanted Bhimanwar removed or made to quit, sought changes in the commission’s administration and asked for offline exams instead of online tests.

A team from the state government, led by minister Shivendra Raje Bhosale, met the protesters and told them most of their demands had been accepted, PTI reported. But the students held firm on one point: they wanted Bhimanwar out. Pawar then said the government should keep him away from the chairman’s post until the inquiry ends, adding that a resignation process could take time.

That proposal split the site. Some aspirants were ready to stop the protest, while others refused to end it unless Bhimanwar was removed, leading to differences among the protesters.

Committee And Reforms

The panel’s composition became central to the settlement. Besides Mundhe as secretary and Bhosale as chairman, it includes IPS officer Laxmi Gautam, ex-IAS officer Ganesh Patil and retired judge P D Naik, PTI reported.

The talks then moved quickly. Bhosale took the demand on Bhimanwar to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and returned about 15 minutes later to tell the protesters that the government had agreed. Minister Bhosale then appealed to the aspirants to call off the agitation.

The protesters paused the stir after that assurance. Vivekanad Patil, one of the aspirants’ representatives, said they had called off the agitation for now. During the meeting, Bhosale said the committee had been formed to probe alleged irregularities in the state recruitment body and that the aspirants’ other demands would also be addressed.

The list of demands was wider than the inquiry itself. It covered dropping cases against some protest leaders, filling 70,000 posts over three years, raising seats in the Group C exam due in January and screening the MPSC chairman and secretary before appointment. Rohit Pawar welcomed Mundhe’s inclusion in the panel. “We hope the committee will have the freedom to work properly,” he said.

Bhimanwar's Background

Bhimanwar was appointed MPSC chairman in December 2025. He was sworn in in February 2026 and assumed charge in March. A 2009-batch IAS officer, he earlier served as transport commissioner and as private secretary to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

The scrutiny had already widened. Earlier this month, the state government terminated the deputation of MPSC secretary Mahendra Harpalkar amid allegations of question paper leaks and irregularities in examinations conducted by the commission. Harpalkar had been appointed to the post on a two-year deputation in December 2025.

An October 1 order from the state General Administration Department said his deputation had been cut short for administrative reasons. It added that a separate order on his next posting would follow and told him to hand over charge at once to another officer, with the commission’s consent.

The police case raised the stakes. Two days earlier, Pune Police filed a case against 15 people linked to the agitation, saying they had organised the protest without permission, blocked traffic and breached prohibitory orders. In a separate case, five others were booked for allegedly flying a drone at the protest site.

Following the registration of cases, Pawar visited the Vishrambaug police station and demanded that an FIR be registered against him. The police told him that a decision would be taken after an investigation, he said.

Claiming that nearly 25 lakh students were directly or indirectly affected by the issue, Pawar urged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to prioritise aspirants’ concerns over his friendship with MPSC chairman Bhimanwar. “Representatives of the protesting students have submitted a draft outlining proposed reforms to cleanse the commission, and the students have endorsed the document,” he said. Alleging that the government is ignoring the protesters because many of them came from poor families, Pawar said the agitation could take a different turn if students, their family members and other citizens joined in large numbers.

Key Questions Answered

Why did MPSC aspirants call off their 10-day protest in Pune? MPSC aspirants ended their 10-day agitation after the Maharashtra government established an inquiry committee to probe recruitment irregularities and paper leaks, with senior IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe appointed as its secretary. Additionally, MPSC Chairman Vivek Bhimanwar announced he would proceed on leave until the investigation concludes.

Who is leading the committee formed to investigate MPSC irregularities? The inquiry committee investigating irregularities in the recruitment body is chaired by ex-judge Dilip Bhosale. Senior IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe serves as the secretary of the panel, which also includes IPS officer Laxmi Gautam, ex-IAS officer Ganesh Patil and retired judge P D Naik.

What other demands were accepted by the Maharashtra government for MPSC students? Aside from forming a probe panel and securing the chairman's leave, the state government agreed to several other demands. These include recruiting 70,000 posts over three years, increasing seat counts for the Group C exam in January, withdrawing certain cases against protest representatives and conducting background checks on future MPSC leadership.