A special CBI court in Bhopal has sentenced 11 individuals to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and fined them Rs 10,000 each for their involvement in a decade-old Vyapam case, now known as the Madhya Pradesh Employees Selection Board (MPESB) case. Special CBI court Judge Nitiraj Singh Sisodiya convicted six candidates and five impersonators under IPC sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120 B, and relevant sections of the Madhya Pradesh Recognised Education (MPRE) Act. The convicted candidates are Lokendra Kumar Dhakad, Avinash Jayant, Rajesh Prajapati, Bhura Rawat, Radheshyam Yadav, and Vikas Rawat. The impersonators are Hemant Singh Jat, Sarvesh Kumar Jha, Naresh Prajapati, Ramveer Singh Rawat, and Hariom Tomar.
The fraudulent scheme
CBI public prosecutor Sushil Kumar Pandey explained that the Vyapam scam involved candidates using impersonators to take the Madhya Pradesh Police Constable Recruitment Examination on their behalf on September 30, 2012. As a result, all six candidates passed the written exam.
- Lokendra Kumar Dhakad was impersonated by Hemant Singh Jat.
- Sarvesh Kumar Jha took the exam for Avinash Jayant.
- Naresh Prajapati appeared for his brother, Rajesh Prajapati.
- Ramveer Singh Rawat and Hariom Tomar impersonated Bhura Rawat and Vikas Rawat, respectively.
- An unknown impersonator took the exam for Radheshyam Yadav.
Investigation and verdict
The scam came to light, leading to a case registration and subsequent investigation by the CBI. A charge sheet was filed against all the accused. During Monday’s hearing, Judge Sisodiya found all the accused guilty and sentenced them to seven years of rigorous imprisonment, along with a Rs 10,000 fine each.
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