CBI files charge-sheet in Vyapam scam, names 95 accused

The case is linked to the Vyapam (Vyavasayik Pareeksha Mandal) case that surfaced in July 2013 when the Madhya Pradesh police arrested 20 impersonators appearing for the medical entrance examination in Indore.

Updated on: Aug 7, 2019, 08:10:31 IST

Hindustan Times, Bhopal | By Shruti Tomar

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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday filed a charge sheet in a special court in Bhopal in connection with alleged irregularities in the 2013 Forest Guard Recruitment Exam, an official said.

Vyapam has now been renamed Professional Examination Board. (HT Fiel Photo)

As many as 95 people have been named in the charge sheet.

“However, CBI didn’t find any evidence against former higher education minister Laxmikant Sharma, former controller of Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board Pankaj Trivedi, Congress leader Sanjeev Saxena and 21 others, who were made accused by STF (special task force of the MP police) in 2015 for rigging the recruitment exam,” said Satish Dinkar, a senior advocate pleading the case for the agency. “CBI didn’t press any charge against them.”

The case is linked to the Vyapam (Vyavasayik Pareeksha Mandal) case that surfaced in July 2013 when the Madhya Pradesh police arrested 20 impersonators appearing for the medical entrance examination in Indore. Vyapam is the Hindi acronym for the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB), which conducts entrance examinations for professional courses and recruitment tests for government posts ranging from food inspectors to forest guards.

The STF had handed over the investigation into the multi-layered case to the CBI four years ago following a Supreme Court order.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shruti Tomar
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More

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