Vyapam: The killer scam

Soaked in blood: The investigation is at a critical stage with the SC handing over inquiry to CBI

Perhaps unprecedented in India, over 40 people connected to the Vyapam examination and recruitment scam in Madhya Pradesh have died over the last few years. Some deaths may not be directly related to it, though. With more than 2,000 arrested, including those in key positions, and with the apex court hearing the case, more skeletons are likely to tumble out and more heads are likely to roll, high in the list being that of the governor.


The Supreme Court has brought down the decibel levels in Madhya Pradesh and across the nation by handing over the probe into the Vyapam scam to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The clamour for a CBI probe hit a crescendo after a long sequence of deaths of people related to the scam surfaced. Figures varied from 25 to 45 depending on whom you asked, the government or the Opposition.

 The CBI has a stiff task carrying forward the investigation from where the Special Task Force (STF) of the Madhya Pradesh Police leaves it. Though the STF worked under the supervision of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the high court, it was unable to arrest many influential people.

Besides, several police officers themselves are involved in fraud during police recruitment tests.

But for the series of eerie deaths, the investigations would have meandered along. Till two days ago, after the sudden death of television reporter Akshay Singh came to light, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was hiding behind lame technicalities to avoid a CBI investigation.

Akshay died on July 4 while interviewing the parents of Namrata Damor, one of the several people related to the scam who died mysteriously. The STF had bypassed expert opinion and claimed that Namrata’s death was a case of suicide and not murder.

Akshay’s death brought the scam back into national and international focus. On July 7, Chouhan said the state government would request the high court to refer the inquiry to the CBI.

The high court withheld a decision as a bunch of petitions from whistle-blowers and Congress leaders seeking a CBI enquiry was already pending before the Supreme Court.
Few examination scams can match the magnitude of fraud surrounding the Professional Examination Board or Vyavasayik Pariksha Mandal, popularly called Vyapam. Over 40 deaths, swindling of over Rs 3,000 crore and more than 2,000 arrests make it one of the worst in the state’s history.

Nearly 500 people have evaded arrest so far. The Chouhan government was accused of protecting politicians, officials, financiers and members of the RSS. The accused No 10, charged with foul play in selection of forest guards, is none other than the Governor of Madhya Pradesh Ramesh Naresh Yadav. That sums up the profile of the case.

 The STF lodged an FIR in February slapping the governor with an assortment of charges, mostly non-bailable, including fraud, cheating and corruption. Yet, the governor has managed to stay in office for five long months already.

 The Supreme Court has now served notices on the Centre and Madhya Pradesh government over continuation of Yadav (88) whose term ends in September.

The high court stayed Yadav’s arrest as he enjoyed immunity while in office. Even the state government was not keen on his arrest as it would lend credence to Congress’ charges and make Chouhan vulnerable.

 Yadav’s role came under the scanner after the arrest of his officer on special duty (OSD) Dhanraj Yadav and son Shailesh Yadav last year. He also made it to the list through STF’s supplementary charge-sheet in the contractual teachers’ grade III exam. Shailesh died due to brain haemorrhage.

The hall of shame

The other bigwigs who form the hall of shame are:

Laxmikant Sharma, education minister during the scam period and main accused. He is in jail for facilitating selection of dozens of candidates in the teachers' recruitment exam, forest guards and police recruitment tests.

Sudhir Sharma, once OSD to Laxmikant Sharma, rose from being a teacher to a mining baron and key financier to the BJP and RSS top guns. 

 Gulab Singh Kirar, the chief minister’s confidant, is absconding. Kirar is accused of helping his son pass the medical entrance exam. Kirar was seen with Chouhan during election meetings but escaped the police eye.

Prem Prasad, former private secretary to Chouhan, was booked for helping his daughter crack the pre-medical test and is out on bail.

Jagdish Sagar, in jail, controlled a big gang in collusion with Professional Examination Board (PEB) officials. They helped candidates sail through PMT for over a decade.

Sanjeev Shilpkar, another kingpin, is also in jail. He arranged for impersonators and bright students to help beneficiaries pass the exams.

O P Shukla, another aide of Laxmikant Sharma, is reportedly a conduit between the minister and PEB officials.
 
Formed in 1980s to conduct examinations for admission to government engineering and medical colleges, the PEB began conducting tests to recruit candidates for various government agencies during the BJP rule.

After the state opened up professional courses to private institutions, there was a flood of medical and engineering colleges. The PEB then began watering down the examination process.
Candidates bribed their way past the selection process.  Several methods were evolved to employ unfair means like impersonation through tampered admit cards, manipulation of seating arrangement to ensure mass copying or replacement of OMR sheets. The candidates were also asked to leave their answer sheets blank.

They were randomly given high percentages after the exam. Authorities of the Board then filed an RTI demanding to view the answer sheets. They then filled in the answers in the OMR sheets according to the marks alloted.

An audit for the years 2008-2011 revealed that 29 lakh OMR sheets and admit cards were printed for 9 lakh candidates. That’s a telling account of huge manipulation in the examination process.

The Vyapam officials also rigged various entrance tests. The dramatis personae are:

Pankaj Trivedi , a former director of Vyapam. Most cases of malpractice took place during his tenure. His proximity to Laxmikant Sharma and Sudhir Sharma helped him rise from a lecturer to controller of exams in Vyapam. Trivedi is now in jail.

Nitin Mahindra, main technical hand and chief systems analyst who manipulated examinations to help racketeers. He was the nodal person whom racketeers, politicians, middlemen and other beneficiaries contacted for favours. He recorded deals on excel sheets and these records became vital evidence in the case.

 Vinod Bhandari,  Indore-based chairman of a group of medical colleges, is in jail for helping candidates crack the PMT and pre-PG exams in nexus with PEB officials.

 R K Shivhare, former DIG, is in jail for helping his daughter and son-in-law pass pre-PG (medical) entrance exam. He also took money for police recruitment tests.

 Sanjeev Saxena, a Congressman who owns a group of colleges, is in jail for helping candidates to get selected in the food inspectors’ exam and dairy federation exam.

 It took so long for the scam to hit the public in the face because a divided Congress was often easily tackled by the BJP which was pumped up by electoral victories. When the Congress did make a concerted effort to present a proof of the chief minister’s involvement in the scam, the high court dismissed its claims on the grounds that it was forged.  The Congress then moved the Supreme Court to get the CBI into the picture.



THE SCANDAL

Set up in 1982, Vyapam (Vyavsayik Pariksha Mandal) is the Hindi acronym for the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB)

Scam involves impersonation of candidates and other methods of cheating during medical and engineering exams

Also involves recruitment in government posts after taking money

 Vyapam conducts entrance exams to various government departments too where fraud of varying kinds has been committed

 An estimated Rs 2,000 crore is reportedly involved in the scam, given by candidates to middlemen to get their answers written by proxy or for marks given fraudulently


DEATH ROLL

 Government officially says 25 people linked in some way to Vyapam have died; Media and activists put this number at over 45; Petitioners before Supreme Court put it at 36
SIT too puts deaths at 36. Deaths by causes -- Mysterious cases 12;
Suicide 7; Accident 11; Illness 6

First death on August 10, 2010. Ashutosh Tiwari, a student of
Government Medical college, Gwalior, an accused, seemingly died after “drinking excess alcohol”

 Cause of deaths apparently due to suicide, poisoning, drowning, road
accidents, murder and unexplained cardiac arrests

 Majority seem to have either committed suicide or killed in road mishaps


MYSTERIOUS DEATHS...

MP Governor Ramesh Naresh Yadav’s son Shailesh Yadav
Aaj Tak channel journalist Akshay Singh
Dr Arun Sharma, Dean of Jabalpur medical college
Sharma's predecessor Dr D K Sakalley
Middlemen: Ashutosh Tiwari, Narendra Rajput, Vijay Patel, Gyan Singh, Vikas Pandey, Deepak Jain, Dinesh Jatav, Anand Singh Yadav, Devendra

BIG NAMES UNDER SHADOW

 Naresh Yadav/Madhya Pradesh Governor
 Shivraj Singh Chouhan/ Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister
 Sadhna Singh/ Chouhan's wife
 Uma Bharti/Union Minister
  Suresh Soni/RSS leader

VYAPAM’s INFAMOUS JOURNEY

2009:  State government sets up committee to look into the scam, report submitted in 2011
2012: Special Task Force set up to investigate scam
July 7, 2013: Indore Police file cases against 20 impersonators. First signs of scam
July 16, 2013: One of the main accused Jagdish Sagar arrested
Aug 26, 2013: MP Police's STF takes over probe
Dec 18, 2013 : Education Minister Laxmikant Sharma arrested
Nov 5, 2014: HC constitutes SIT
Feb 16, 2015 : Congress claims STF saving Chouhan with the help of documents provided by a cyber expert Prashant Pandey who was working for STF. Claims mention of CM in 64 places replaced with other names in the e-document retrieved from a Vyapam official.
Apr 24, 2015: HC prima facie accepts STF report that says the material submitted by whistleblower is fabricated and forged
 June 29, 2015: SIT reports deaths of 23 accused and witnesses linked to
Vyapam scam
- By June 2015, over 2,000 people arrested in connection with the scam
-  Arrested included
former technical education minister Laxmikant Sharma, scores of politicians, touts,
officials and students
July 7, 2015: Chouhan agrees for CBI probe
 July 9, 2015: SC orders CBI probe

 K Sudarshan/former RSS Sarsanghchalak
Nagar, Arvind Shakya, Anshul Sachan, Shyamvir Yadav, Anuj Uikey


(The writer is a senior journalist based in Bhopal)