A bitter breakup has led to the unravelling of the Maharashtra Public Service Commission’s (MPSC) Drug Inspector paper leak, with the man who alerted the commission to the alleged leak now among six people arrested in the case.

The Crime Branch alleges that Lokesh alias Gaurav Patil, 24, was himself a recipient of the leaked paper and got it from his girlfriend, Rutuja, before the March 22 examination.

After the two broke up, police allege, Patil approached the MPSC with information about the leak because he feared she would move on after securing a government job.

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The Crime Branch has also issued a notice to the girlfriend, Rutuja, who allegedly received the paper and went on to secure seventh rank in the recruitment examination.

Crime Branch DCP Raj Tilak Roushan said Lokesh alias Gaurav Patil, who initially approached the MPSC claiming to have information about the leak, was found during the investigation to have been involved in the paper leak himself.

“In all, six persons, including three MPSC employees, have been placed under arrest. A notice has been issued to Rutuja,” Roushan said.

The investigation found that ahead of the March 22 examination, Amrut Patil, 55, Rutuja’s father, allegedly contacted middleman Pravin Patil, 40, who was also from Nandurbar.

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Pravin allegedly knew three MPSC employees — Assistant Section Officers Vishveshwar Nakate, 35, and Gopal Marate, 37, and Undersecretary Abhijeet Lendave — who allegedly helped procure the question paper.

According to police, Pravin paid Rs 5 lakh to the MPSC employees, with more money promised later. Amrut then allegedly handed the paper to Rutuja a few days before the exam. Rutuja then passed on the paper to Gaurav on WhatsApp two days prior to the exam as his brother too was meant to give the paper.

Rutuja subsequently appeared for the examination and secured seventh rank, according to the police.

But by the time the results were declared, Gaurav and Rutuja had broken up.

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Police allege that it was after the breakup that Gaurav turned whistleblower as he feared that once she became an officer, she would forget him.

He emailed the MPSC claiming to be a friend of an applicant and alleged that the March 22 examination paper had been leaked.

He followed up on the complaint, while NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar separately raised the issue towards the end of July, alleging that candidates at a coaching institute in Nandurbar had received most of the questions two days before the examination.

The MPSC then approached the Mumbai Police, and the Crime Branch’s Property Cell took over the probe.

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Investigators initially recorded Gaurav’s statement. But as the probe progressed, police said, he sensed that investigators were closing in on him. He subsequently approached the MPSC again and tried to backtrack on his complaint, claiming that he had been confused about the examination process.

The Crime Branch, however, continued its investigation and found that the paper had indeed been leaked — and Gaurav to had received it before the exam. “If he was indeed a whistleblower, he should’ve alerted MPSC before the exam,” said an officer.

The Drug Inspector recruitment examination was conducted on March 22 for 154 Group B gazetted posts in the Food and Drug Administration. Around 44,500 candidates appeared at centres across the state’s six revenue divisions. The results were declared on June 12, with 506 candidates qualifying for interviews. A provisional merit list of 488 candidates was published on July 22.

The Crime Branch conveyed its findings to the MPSC on Tuesday and registered an FIR. The six accused were arrested on Wednesday and produced before a court, which remanded them in police custody.

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Following the Crime Branch report, the MPSC cancelled the examination and said a fresh examination would be conducted. Candidates who were part of the cancelled recruitment process will not have to apply again.