Meet the Vyapam scam whistleblowers

The Vyapam scam investigation had commenced on July 7, 2013, on the basis of a report lodged by Anand Rai

The Supreme Court is set to hear on Thursday a petition filed by Anand Rai, one of the three whistleblowers in the Vyapam scam. Rai had filed a petition seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into allotment of seats in private colleges of Madhya Pradesh. 

After the court had on July 13 ordered CBI to take over the investigation into this case, the agency has so far filed two first information reports (FIRs) in connection with the case. 

According to a Firstpost.com report, the two FIRs already registered by the agency relate to the alleged fraud in the Pre-Medical Test, 2010, and a Pre-post-graduation examination in 2011. Reports by news agency PTI suggest CBI has also begun a probe into the deaths of five persons allegedly associated with the multi-crore Vyapam scam.

 

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Here is a look at the three Vyapam scam whistleblowers:

1. Anand Rai

Anand rai (photo: ANI)

Anand Rai is a medical officer in a government hospital in Indore. The Vyapam scam investigation had commenced on July 7, 2013, on the basis of a report lodged by Rai. He had come to know about the fraud when he had himself taken an exam conducted by the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB), as a medical student in 2005. He kept digging for evidence and after filing repeated complaints and receiving no response, moved court in July 2013, according to an NDTV report.

According to media reports, Rai has in his petition said the investigation cannot be properly monitored by the state government, given that the beneficiaries of the fraud include children of judges and investigating officials, too.

In an interview with NDTV, Rai had talked about threats he had received. “One of the main accused, Jagdish Sagar, called me and said he would not spare me,” said Rai. “I got security only after I approached the high court but that’s only for eight hours (a day). That basically means my security is in the hands of God before 11 am and after 7 pm.”

With the Supreme Court transferring the case to CBI, half of Rai’s petition has been addressed. “We do feel vindicated but it’s just the start. You ask where we get the courage from? I come from a small town and I have struggled to get where I am. I want to expose this fraud so that the system changes,” Rai had said.

2. Prashant Pandey

Prashant Pandey (photo: ANI)

Prashant Pandey, 36, is a digital forensic engineer with a two-year experience of working with enforcement agencies in Madhya Pradesh. He became a whistleblower in July 2014, when he realised the special task force was relying on documents that appeared to have been tampered with. An NDTV report had earlier said the excel sheet produced by Pandey mentioned Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s name 48 times. But the chargesheet made by the special task force relied on an excel sheet that did not have the CM’s name.

Pandey had also gone on to say in an interview with NDTV that the “SSP (senior superintendent of police) of Bhopal came home and threatened me, saying he would register 40 cases against me if I took the name of the chief minister in this case”. Pandey had been detained by the police for a few days and his family met with an accident under suspicious circumstances in May 2015. His grandmother is still in hospital.

3. Ashish Chaturvedi

Ashish Chaturvedi (photo: ANI)

A 26-year-old Gwalior-based social activist, Ashish Chaturvedi had disclosed the involvement of one of Chief Minister Chouhan’s relatives and seven others in the scam. Chaturvedi’s investigation was triggered by the lack of appropriate medical assistance when he took his mother for treatment of cancer in 2009. Chaturvedi, too, has been threatened at least 10 times, according to media reports.

The scam: Where it stands

The multi-crore Vyapam scam involves allegations of widespread corruption in MPPEB, which conducts admissions to various professional courses and recruitment tests for government medical college admissions and other government posts as police constables, teachers, and banking officials, among others, since 2007.

Officers of MPPEB were found to have been rigging a variety of eligibility tests for courses and recruitments for close to six years. Over Rs 2,000 crore is believed to have been exchanged in bribes. The state police have arrested about 2,000 people, and are looking for about 700 more.

According to an ibnlive.com report, the first FIR is for the 2010 Pre-Medical Test exam against 21 candidates and is registered under sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471, 474 and 120B of IPC. The second FIR is against eight accused in 2011 Pre-PG exam and is registered under sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120 B of IPC and under Madhya Pradesh Recognised Examination Act.