A BRIEF HISTORY OF IMPERSONATION
The scam broke on July 7, 2013, after the Indore crime branch arrested 20 impersonators who had come to take the pre-medical test (PMT) on someone else’s behalf. The CBI took over the investigation from the Madhya Pradesh STF on July 9, 2015, following a Supreme Court order.
MODUS OPERANDI
The ‘engine-bogie’ system: The roll number of solver student (‘engine’) and roll number of the beneficiary student (‘bogie’) were manipulated and allocated in such a manner that a ‘bogie’ student was seated right behind the ‘engine’ student, which allowed him to cheat. Impersonator: Board officials generated admit cards of candidates who paid money, but attached photographs of imposters who actually appeared for the exams. Manipulation of the answer sheets: The candidates were asked to answer only queries they were sure of and leave the others blank. Subsequently, officials used to make changes in the answer sheets for candidates who paid them. Different pens used by the candidate and the official exposed them.
WHISTLE-BLOWERS
Ashish Kumar Chaturvedi: A complainant in six cases and witness in 16 cases. He gave vital evidence in several of the cases and also received threats, receiving police protection. Ajay Dubey: One of the petitioners who demanded that the case be probed by the CBI. He blew the lid off the recruitment scam in Vyapam. Anand Rai: An ophthalmologist, he suspected wrongdoing by several doctors while pursuing his MBBS and post-graduation courses. He exposed the scam when he found the forms of pre-medical test candidates in a suitcase of suspected racketeer, Jagdish Sagar, his batchmate. Prashant Pandey: A digital expert-turned-activist, Pandey worked as an information technology consultant with the special task force investigating the Vyapam scam.