Gorakhpur DM who triggered row during UP vote count promoted
BHOPAL: The two departments responsible for medial education in the state — the Madhya Pradesh professional examination board (MPPEB), popularly known as Vyapam, and the directorate of medial education (DME) — appear to be engaged in a blame game over a letter from 2014 which had reportedly “exposed” a development that later grew on to take shape of the wide-ranging “scam”.
A letter from then MPPEB director Tarun Pithode dated July 8, 2014 to the directorate pointed out the modus operandi undertaken in the pre-medical test (PMT) row. The exam was conducted by Vyapam that year.
Pithode had referred to documents that showed 88 PMT candidates in 2012 and 119 in 2013 getting selected for admission into private medical colleges under state quota, but not going through with the admission, thus facilitating the seats being sold by the colleges to the highest bidder.
It was this aspect that the CBI later took cognisance of to register cases and make arrests.
The letter, which should have alerted the DME about a possible anomaly, reportedly never reached its office, the directorate has claimed. The MPPEB claimed the letter was delivered in 2017, three years after it was written.
The DME, writing to the information commission, said that the receipt of the letter shown by the Vyapam was “forged”.
MPPEB chairman Deepak Khandekar said, “I have no idea about it. All correspondence comes to the director, and not to me, and the letters are sent by the director.” MPPEB director Chandra Mohan Thakur refused to take calls and responded to a text, saying, “Please ask the public relations officer for comments.”
DME commissioner SS Shukla said, “I have no idea, all matters relating to RTI is dealt by the director.” Director, DME, Ulka Shrivastava said, “We replied that we had not received any letter from Vyapam, which is the fact. I can’t comment on Vyapam’s contention that we had received letter in 2017. May be it was their carelessness or their ignorance that made them furnish a forged document.” LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government has transferred 37 IAS officials, including 16 District Magistrates, an official said on Saturday.
Rajiv Rautela, the district magistrate of Gorakhpur, who courted controversy on Wednesday for barring the media from accessing details at the Lok Sabha bypoll counting centre, has been shifted and prompted as divisional commissioner of Devipatan. The bureaucratic rejig was effected late on Friday.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) wrested Gorakhpur, chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s home constituency, from the BJP.
Anoop Chandra Pandey, the industrial and infrastructure development commissioner credited with the success of the ‘UP Investors Summit’ held in February has been rewarded with additional charge of the NRI department, besides additional charge of Greater Noida.
Alok Sinha has been made the new principal secretary (commercial tax), Nitin Ramesh has been made the new principal secretary (housing). He replaced Mukul Singhal who has been sent to the silk department.
Senior bureaucrat Rajeev Kapoor who was in waiting ever since his return from a central deputation has been made the chairman of PICUP; Alok Tandon has been given additional charge of Noida as its chairman.