Nagpur: The Class 12 paper leak scandal has taken a darker and more disturbing turn in Nagpur. What initially appeared to be an isolated breach involving the Chemistry examination has now snowballed into a full-blown integrity crisis, with investigators confirming that the Mathematics question paper was also leaked before the exam, a report in local media said.
According to the report, police probing the racket recovered the Mathematics paper from deleted WhatsApp chats on the mobile phone of one of the arrested accused. The digital trail, though deliberately erased, was resurrected using forensic tools, exposing yet another breach in the examination system. Investigators are now hunting for a fifth suspect who allegedly played a key role in circulating the Mathematics paper ahead of the scheduled test.
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Feb 27th, 2026 - Time 11.45Hrs
The scandal first erupted during the Chemistry examination held on February 18 at St. Ursula High School in Civil Lines. Shockingly, the question paper had already landed in a student’s WhatsApp group before the exam even began. To make matters worse, answers to the paper were also shared in the same group, reducing what should have been a merit-based test into a mockery of the system.
Under sustained interrogation, the student revealed the name of a friend, widening the scope of the investigation. As police dug deeper, they unearthed the Physics question paper dated February 16 from the same student’s phone, confirming that the leak was not a one-off incident but part of a larger pattern.
Acting on a complaint filed by Secondary Education Officer Anil Dahiphale, police registered a formal offence and launched a crackdown. The administrators of the WhatsApp group ‘XII’ — Nishikant Mool (45) from Mankapur and Farhan Akhtar (19) from Kamgar Nagar — were arrested. Additionally, Mustafa Khan Munir Khan (42) of Bhankheda and Junaid Ahmed (42), directors of Excellent Academy, were taken into custody for questioning.
Despite attempts by the accused to wipe out incriminating chats, cyber experts successfully retrieved deleted conversations. The recovered data reportedly shows that the Mathematics question paper was transmitted to one of the accused on February 21, well before students walked into the examination hall.
The investigation is now focused on identifying the source and tracing the individual who first forwarded the Mathematics paper. The widening probe has raised serious questions about how deeply the leak network may be embedded and whether more examinations were compromised.
With three core subjects, Chemistry, Physics and now Mathematics, dragged into the scandal, the credibility of the examination process stands severely shaken, leaving students, parents and educators demanding accountability and swift action.
