Vyapam scam: CBI to quiz ex-minister

The CBI has decided to tighten the net around former Madhya Pradesh education minister Laxmikant Sharma, with the agency planning to examine him again as part of its investigations into the multi-crore Vyapam scam. Sources said that he is likely to be called for questioning in the first week of September.

Mr Sharma and a former officer on special duty to the Madhya Pradesh Raj Bhavan are among the 20 accused named in an FIR registered by the CBI in the investigation into massive irregularities in recruitments done by the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) or “Vyapam”.

“The agency sleuths probing the scam want certain clarification from the former minister pertaining to the alleged illegalities in the combined assistant programmer, IT operator, data entry operator and computer operator recruitment tests conducted by Vyapam in 2013. He may be called again for the questioning,” sources said.

Earlier, Mr Sharma was questioned by CBI officials in connection with the agency’s probe into the alleged irregularities committed in the state police recruitment examination conducted by Vyapam in 2012-13.

“CBI investigations have revealed that the Vyapam scam involved collusion among candidates, government officials, state-level politicians and middlemen. Undeserving candidates bribed the MPPEB officials through middlemen to be seated strategically next to a brilliant dummy candidate, who was paid money also,” sources said.

The Supreme Court on July 9, 2015 had transferred investigations of all cases related to the Vyapam scam to the CBI.

Vyapam is a government body responsible for conducting several entrance tests in Madhya Pradesh. It recruits for government jobs and also deals with admissions to educational institutes.

Vyapam scam is allegedly a well orchestrated rigging of entrance exams to help undeserving candidates, who allegedly bribed politicians and officials through middlemen, to get high ranks in these entrance tests.