Indore (Madhya Pradesh): In a significant verdict in the infamous Vyapam recruitment scam, a CBI special court in Indore on Tuesday sentenced 10 accused to five years of rigorous imprisonment each for cheating and using forged documents in the Patwari Recruitment Examination, 2008.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 3,000 on each of the convicts. Those sentenced include Rameshwar, Rakesh, Devendra, Chetan, Balram, Harpal, Gopal, Jitendra, Dinesh and Digvijay Singh Solanki.
The case pertains to large-scale irregularities detected in the Patwari Recruitment Examination conducted by the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (Vyapam) in 2008. During investigations, it emerged that several candidates had resorted to impersonation and submitted forged educational certificates and documents to fraudulently secure selection.
An FIR was initially registered on October 26, 2012, at Kotwali Police Station in Khargone district. The Khargone police alleged that the accused had cheated the examination authorities by producing fake certificates and using forged documents as genuine to gain appointment as patwaris.
Following investigation, the district police filed chargesheet on May 28, 2014, before the competent court.
Following directions of the Supreme Court, the case was transferred to the CBI. The central agency pursued further investigation and conducted the prosecution during trial.
After examining the evidence and hearing arguments from both sides, the special CBI court held all 10 accused guilty of impersonation and cheating.
Pronouncing the judgment, the court observed that the prosecution had successfully established the role of the accused in manipulating the recruitment process and undermining the integrity of public examinations.
