Rohit Pawar alleges Rs 2,300 crore scam in Maha CET

Mumbai, Nov 3 (IANS) The Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MLA Rohit Pawar on Tuesday levelled serious allegations of corruption amounting to Rs 2,300 crore in the conduct of Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (CET) exams and centralised admissions, demanding an immediate judicial inquiry into the matter.

Addressing a press conference, Pawar targeted Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil and Maharashtra CET Commissioner Dileep Sardesai, demanding their immediate resignations.

Pawar alleged that a private firm, EduSpark, along with its associated sister concerns, secured lucrative government contracts through rigged and manipulated tendering processes.

According to him, these contracts spanned CET examination management, skill development projects, educational software, and infrastructure services across multiple state departments.

“The CET cell is a government department, not an autonomous body like the MPSC,” Pawar said, stressing direct government accountability.

“If anyone is involved, it could be the former minister and the present Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil and a person associated with him,” he added, promising to reveal the identity of the unnamed associate on social media shortly.

Adding weight to the allegations, a teacher present at the press conference claimed to have conducted a sting operation exposing an agency that offered guaranteed top CET examination results for Rs 25 lakh per student.

Pawar criticised the police and state authorities for ignoring evidence already submitted to them.

He demanded state protection for the teachers who risked their safety to execute the sting operation. He noted that despite whistleblowers submitting documentary proof to the Pimpri-Chinchwad Police Commissionerate, no First Information Report (FIR) has been registered.

He raised doubts over the progress and credibility of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) previously constituted to probe CET irregularities.

To ensure transparency and protect students’ futures, Pawar laid out key demands for the state government.

“Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis must immediately order a high-level judicial inquiry and a comprehensive forensic audit of all contracts awarded to EduSpark and its affiliates. The upcoming March CET examinations must be held in offline mode to eliminate software manipulation and digital malpractice,” he demanded.

Pawar warned that if the state government fails to take decisive action within 10 days, the opposition will escalate the issue politically across the state.

Responding to the press conference, sources from Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil’s office stated that the complainant should formally submit all evidence to competent investigative agencies, assuring that an impartial probe would be conducted into the allegations.

–IANS

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