A special court in Indore has recently awarded 5 years of rigorous imprisonment to a candidate at the Pre-Medical Test and a proxy who helped him clear it in a case related to the infamous Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh.
Judge Sanjay Gupta of the special court set up for the trial of Vyapam scam cases also imposed a fine of Rs 14,000 each on accused Purushottam Khoiya and Saurabh Chandra Gupta after holding them guilty under relevant sections of the IPC and Madhya Pradesh Recognized Examination Act.
The agency’s special public prosecutor Ranjan Sharma stated that the CBI examined 28 witnesses during the trial.
He said that, both the accused, originally from Uttar Pradesh, are about 35 years old.
As per the CBI, Khoiya registered for the PMT entrance test for the MBBS course in 2009, but in the actual examination, Gupta appeared in his place.
After clearing the examination in this fraudulent way, Khoiya got admission to the Government Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College in Indore. Sharma said, “In 2014, unidentified persons sent two letters to then dean of the college, Dr Pushpa Verma, claiming that Khoiya had been selected fraudulently.”
The dean set up an inquiry committee that confirmed the fraud, following which a case was registered at Sanyogitaganj police station.
Gupta himself pursued MBBS course at a Delhi college when his role in the crime came to light.
The Vyapam scam (Vyapam denoted the Madhya Pradesh Vyavasayik Pariksha Mandal or professional examination board), which came to light in 2013, pertained to alleged nexus of gangsters, officials and political leaders in the rigging of entrance examinations/tests for the state government service and professional courses.
The CBI took over the probe of the multi-crore scam on the Supreme Court’s directions in 2015.