Rohit Pawar Accuses Maharashtra CET of ₹2,300 Crore Scam, Calls for Judicial Inquiry

Mumbai, November 3 (Daily Kiran) : Maharashtra’s political landscape was shaken on November 3 when Rohit Pawar, a legislator from the Nationalist Congress Party, leveled serious allegations of a ₹2,300 crore corruption scandal involving the Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (CET) and its centralized admission process. He called for an immediate judicial inquiry into the matter during a press conference in Mumbai.

Targeting higher and technical education minister Chandrakant Patil and CET Commissioner Dilip Sardesai, Pawar demanded their resignations. He accused a private firm, Eduspark, along with its affiliates, of securing lucrative government contracts through fraudulent and manipulated tender processes.

According to Pawar, these contracts were related to the management of the CET, skill development projects, educational software, and infrastructure services across various state departments. He emphasized that the CET cell operates as a government department and is not an autonomous body like the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC), underscoring the need for direct government accountability.

Pawar suggested that the involvement of Patil or someone connected to him could be a possibility. He promised to identify an unknown accomplice soon via social media.

Adding weight to his claims, a teacher present at the press conference revealed that he had conducted a sting operation exposing an agency that guaranteed top CET results for a fee of ₹25 lakh per student. Pawar criticized police and state officials for neglecting previously submitted evidence.

He called for state protection for the teachers who risked their lives to conduct the sting operation, noting that despite documentary evidence being provided to the Pimpri-Chinchwad police commissioner’s office, no First Information Report (FIR) had been filed.

Pawar expressed skepticism about the progress and reliability of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to investigate the CET irregularities. To ensure transparency and safeguard students’ futures, he outlined key demands to the state government.

He urged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to order a high-level judicial inquiry and comprehensive forensic audit of all contracts awarded to Eduspark and its affiliates. Furthermore, he insisted that the upcoming CET exams, scheduled for March, should be conducted offline to prevent software manipulation and digital fraud.

Pawar warned that if the state government fails to take decisive action within ten days, the opposition would escalate the issue politically across Maharashtra.

In response, sources from Chandrakant Patil’s office stated that the complainant should formally submit all evidence to the competent investigative agencies and assured that a fair investigation would be conducted regarding the allegations.