NCRA Employee Booked for Leaking Work Assistant Exam Paper; Case Registered Under Official Secrets Act
Pune, 10th November 2026: An employee of the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) in Pune has been booked for allegedly leaking the question paper for a recruitment examination for the post of Work Assistant. The alleged leak came to light after a question paper circulated through WhatsApp was found to be identical to the original examination paper.
The accused has been identified as Vivek Baban Hadwale. Chatushrungi Police have registered a case against him under the Official Secrets Act and relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
According to the police, the complaint was lodged by Vaibhav Pandurang Sherkar (35), an officer with the Vigilance Department of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai.
The written examination for the Work Assistant post was conducted at NCRA’s centre on the Savitribai Phule Pune University campus on May 24, 2025. The alleged question paper leak came to the attention of the Vigilance Department in June 2026. During the subsequent inquiry, the complainant met an individual who provided information about the incident on July 31.
According to the complaint, the individual claimed to have received the question paper through WhatsApp from Hadwale’s mobile number at around 7:15 am on May 23, 2025, a day before the examination.
The individual also submitted printed copies of the question paper, screenshots of WhatsApp conversations and photographs of the question paper displayed on a mobile phone to the Vigilance Department.
During verification, officials compared the material provided by the individual with the original question paper maintained by the institution. The comparison reportedly confirmed that both question papers were identical.
Following the verification, a complaint was filed against Hadwale for allegedly disclosing confidential examination material.
Chatushrungi Police have registered the offence under Section 5 of the Official Secrets Act and Sections 316(2) and 316(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Further investigation into the alleged examination paper leak is underway.
