Navi Mumbai/Pune: The controversy surrounding the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) exam paper leak has intensified dramatically.
Amid state wide student protests demanding the resignation of the MPSC Chairman Vivek Bhimanwar, activists from the Sambhaji Brigade on Friday smeared black ink on the face of MPSC Secretary Mahendra Harpalkar in Navi Mumbai.
The incident occurred in broad daylight, sparking chaos at the site.
A video of the altercation quickly circulated on social media, reflecting the mounting anger among competitive exam aspirants across key hubs like Pune and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
Justifying the act, Sambhaji Brigade State Spokesperson Santosh Shinde said that the protest represented the frustration of 2.5 million MPSC aspirants and the 120 million citizens of Maharashtra.
“The ink smeared and the slap delivered to MPSC official Mahendra Harpalkar is a direct slap from the public to this corrupt system and incompetent government,” Shinde declared.
Reacting to the assault on the MPSC Secretary, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MLA Rohit Pawar distanced his party from the violent act while acknowledging student outrage.
“The MPSC Chairman and Secretary have undoubtedly toyed with the future of students through paper leaks and corruption, and the emotions of the students are extremely high. However, our opposition must remain within constitutional bounds. The Constitution given by Babasaheb Ambedkar holds immense power, and we will surely succeed through it. The constitutional path is the right path—we never support acts like throwing ink on anyone,” he said.
The Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar said that the incident of blackening the face of the Secretary of the Maharashtra Public Service Commission is an outburst of the intense dissatisfaction and anger that lakhs of students and parents in the state harbour against the state government.
“Repeated paper leaks and alleged corruption have put the future of students in jeopardy. We do not support this violence; no one should take the law into their own hands. But the government must now view this incident with the seriousness it deserves, without waiting for such an outburst. Ignoring the demands and emotions of students could prove costly for the government. Therefore, immediate concrete steps must be taken, otherwise this public outrage will intensify further,” he added.
Minister of State for Home Yogesh Kadam while speaking to reporters in Dharashiv strongly condemned the attack and warned the demonstrators of strict legal action.
“Staging such protests may draw publicity, but it will not resolve the issue. The state government has taken the paper leak matter very seriously, and strict action will be taken against anyone found guilty. However, we will not tolerate actions that create law and order problems in the state,” he said.
Friday’s incident took place a day after Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced on Thursday that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) will investigate the MPSC Group B and Group C Prelims and Mains Examinations 2025.
“A comprehensive probe will be conducted into all alleged paper leaks and irregularities in MPSC examinations held over the past two years. A complete re-checking of the 2025 Mains examination question papers will be done. The interview schedule for the concerned recruitment processes has been temporarily suspended pending the investigation,” the Chief Minister said after his meeting with the MPSC aspirants.
In a related development, tension mounted further in Dharashiv when Maratha activists blocked Minister Yogesh Kadam’s convoy as he was travelling toward Paranda.
The protesters expressed deep anger over the state government’s perceived apathy toward Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil’s ongoing hunger strike.
The agitators were also infuriated by Minister Kadam’s recent public warning against using derogatory language against Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Raising loud slogans, the mob intercepted the convoy to demand answers, triggering brief chaos and heavy police deployment at the spot.
(IANS)
