StatesMaharashtra
MPSC chairman goes on leave as Pune students end 11-day protest over paper leaks
Vivek Bhimanwar will stay away until a five-member panel headed by retired judge Dilip Bhosale finishes its inquiry. The government says cases against protesting students will be dropped.
Key points
- MPSC chairman Vivek Bhimanwar said he would take leave until the inquiry is complete, posting the decision on X at about 1:24 am on Monday.
- A panel headed by retired judge Dilip Bhosale will look into paper leak allegations and has two months to report on reforms.
- Students who had camped near SM Joshi bridge in Pune suspended their agitation, though their main demand had been the chairman's resignation.
The chairman of the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC), Vivek Bhimanwar, has gone on leave pending an inquiry into alleged paper leaks, and the students who had protested in Pune for 11 days have suspended their agitation.
Bhimanwar announced the decision on X at about 1:24 am on Monday, hours after the state government set up an inquiry panel late on Sunday night. He said he had chosen to step away rather than continue in the post while the inquiry was under way.
The autonomy, credibility, and interests of students of the MPSC have always been my priority.
“Throughout my entire life, I have always prioritised ethics,” he added.
The night the deal was struck
Thousands of aspirants had camped near SM Joshi bridge in Pune, demanding an independent probe and the chairman’s removal. The breakthrough came at a late-night meeting between Public Works Minister Shivendraraje Bhosale, MLAs Rohit Pawar and Vishwajeet Kadam, and a student delegation. Students were told the government had sent Bhimanwar on compulsory leave, and by Monday morning they had suspended the protest.
Bhosale said cases filed against students over the agitation would be withdrawn and that anyone found guilty in the leaks would face strict action.
Rohit Pawar, the NCP (SP) MLA who led the agitation, said the students’ main demand had been the chairman’s resignation, but they had stepped back out of concern for their exams. “The children took one step back, but the government took ten steps back,” he said. “Although it was delayed, the government has accepted the students’ demands.”
Who will run the inquiry
The panel is headed by retired judge Dilip Bhosale. Its members are retired judge P.D. Naik, former IAS officer Ganesh Patil and police officer Laxmi Gautam, with senior IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe, the Food and Drug Administration Commissioner, as secretary. It will look into the leak allegations and administrative irregularities and study structural flaws in how the commission works, with two months to submit a report on reforms.
The protests followed complaints that some candidates had the question paper for the Drug Inspector screening exam, held on 22 March, two days in advance. The commission cancelled that entire recruitment process. Students have also asked for 70,000 posts to be filled over three years and for more vacancies in the next Group C exam.