CBI court convicts 31 in 2013 Vyapam case

CBI special prosecutor Satish Dinkar said the quantum of punishment will be announced on November 25.

A CBI court, on Thursday, convicted 31 accused in police constable recruitment exam 2013, a part of the Vyapam scam here, said Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special prosecutor .

A CBI court, on Thursday, convicted 31 accused in police constable recruitment exam 2013, a part of the Vyapam scam here, said Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special prosecutor .(PTI Photo)

CBI special prosecutor Satish Dinkar said the quantum of punishment will be announced on November 25.

The accused include 12 candidates from Bhind and Morena, 12 impersonators from UP and seven middlemen from UP arrested by CBI in the past few years. Dinkar said, “The CBI filed charge sheet against 31 accused in April 2017 as per which the 12 impersonators were arranged by seven middlemen to help 12 candidates clear the police constable recruitment exam 2013, conducted by Vyapam (Hindi acronym of Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board). They were caught at different centres of Bhopal and Datia districts due to mismatching of photographs and the thumb impression. CBI identified and traced them successfully.”

“The candidates had paid ₹1.5 lakh to ₹5 lakh per candidate to middlemen and impersonators to clear the written exam,” said Dinkar.

Earlier, a special task force (STF) had named these persons as accused in December 2013. The CBI took over the probe from the STF case in December 2015.

The court convicted them under section 120 (b) (punishment for criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (use forged documents as genuine one) and under different sections of MP Recognised Examinations Act, said the advocate.

The prosecution produced 91 witnesses and evidences to prove charges against the accused, according to the senior advocate.