Bhopal: Five get 7 years of rigorous imprisonment in Vyapam scam case

Five accused of the Vyapam-related police recruitment scam were sentenced to seven years of imprisonment by a special CBI court in Bhopal today.

A special court of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Bhopal has sentenced five accused of the Vyapam-related police recruitment scam to seven years of rigorous imprisonment. The court has awarded five accused, including three candidates, in connection with the police recruitment test conducted in 2012 by Vyapam. The Police Constable Recruitment test conducted by Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination board (MPRE) is also known as Vyapam.

The accused have been identified as Aneka Ram, Nar Singh, Giriraj (all three candidates), Raju Kumar and Naval Kumar (impersonators). All of them have been sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs 10,000 under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and MPRE Acts.

In January, six accused were held and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment along with a fine for involvement in cheating and impersonating another candidate in a Pre-Medical Entrance Test, conducted in 2010.

Earlier, a special task force headed by Bhopal police had conducted an investigation upon the directions of the Supreme Court. In 2015, the CBI filed a case after it was alleged that the three candidates had contacted middlemen and had paid the amount to pass the exam.

After investigation, a chargesheet was filed against nine accused, including candidates, impersonators and middlemen, on June 30, 2017, before Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) court, Bhopal.

The trial court found the five accused guilty and convicted them. Four middlemen were freed and acquitted by the court because of lack of evidence.

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