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Vyapam scam: CBI summons 60 accused before special court
Of the 154 cases being probed by CBI under the Vyapam scam, this is the last case in which investigation had been pending for the past five years
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)’s investigating officer has summoned 60 people, including medical students, the director of a private medical college and two officers of the medical education department, to appear before its special court in Gwalior on December 30 in connection with alleged fraud and cheating committed in PMT 2011 as a part of a multi-level Vyapam scam, said CBI advocate.
CBI advocate Bharat Bhushan Sharma said, “The final charge sheet will be filed on December 30 in the case of the fraud committed by a private medical college of Bhopal by giving admission to undeserving candidates in PMT 2011.”
“The case was registered in 2013 by a special task force (STF) of the state government against three medical students only. After the Supreme Court order, the CBI took over the case in July 2015. After investigating the case for five years, CBI accused 57 other people too. They included 39 medical students, 11 officials of the management of the private medical college, which is one of the main Covid-19 dedicated hospitals in Bhopal, then director of medical education (DME), then joint director of medical education and five others,” said an investigating officer, requesting anonymity.
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CBI also sought sanction from the department of medical education to prosecute then DME and joint DME, said the officer.
According to the complaint of the Vyapam scam whistle blower, Ashish Chaturvedi, lodged with the Special Task Force in Gwalior in 2013, a few medical students of second, third and final year of MBBS had appeared in the Pre-Medical Test (PMT) 2011 and topped the exam. They had locked the government quota seats and later vacated them for undeserving students.
“In the investigation, it was found that private medical college had paid students studying in medical colleges in MP and others states to appear in PMT 2011 and to lock the seats during the first round of counselling. The medical students had vacated the seats after counselling. Later, the private medical college had admitted undeserving students to the seats after taking donations. Then DME and joint DME also acted against the rules,” said the officer.
Of the 154 cases being probed by CBI under the Vyapam scam, this is the last case in which investigation had been pending for the past five years. “Now, CBI is left with eight cases in which supplementary charge sheets will be filed,” said the officer.
In all, 3,500 people were accused by the CBI in different cases.
The Vyapam scam came to light in July 2013 when Indore Police arrested 20 impersonators who appeared for the medical entrance examination to help undeserving candidates secure high ranks. The cheating net also involved a clique of politicians and bureaucrats that facilitated the fraud in exchange for bribes, according to investigators. The CBI took over the case in 2015.
