Prime accused in Vyapam seen at event attended by MP CM Kamal Nath

In what may come as a major embarrassment, the main accused in the Vyapam scam was seen at a school event in Indore attended by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath. Jagdish Sagar was seen during the prize distribution programme at Indore's Daily College School. Other than Kamal Nath, the event was attended by Higher Education Minister Jitu Patwari and senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh. Jagdish Sagar was arrested from a Mumbai hotel in 2013 by Indore crime branch sleuths after the scam came to light.

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Wearing a suit and sporting a black sunglass, Jagdish Sagar initially tried to avert cameras of media persons and left the venue later. Notably, Congress had targeted the previous Shivraj Singh Chouhan government over large scale corruption in Vyapam during the 2018 Assembly elections. Back then, Sagar was fielded by the Bahujan Samaj Party from the Gohad Assembly segment in Bhind district, an election he lost to a Congress candidate. Sagar is seen as the principal architect of the mega scam and was arrested in the case.

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Vyapam scam

The Vyapam scam refers to irregularities in exams held by the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board, also called Vyavasayik Pareeksha Mandal or Vyapam, for admission in professional courses and state services. The scam came to light in 2013 and shook the very core of the education system in the state.  It involved scamsters including politicians, senior and junior officials, and businessmen systematically employing imposters to write papers, manipulate exam hall seating arrangements, and supply forged answer sheets by bribing officials.

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Vyapam mastermind

Jagdish Sagar, a physician, is accused of rigging pre-medical tests and helping out hundreds of students clear the exam through unfair means. In his election affidavit, among criminal cases lodged against him, Sagar has mentioned many cases, including those of the Madhya Pradesh Pre Medical Test (MPPMT) scam and a money laundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Act. The Enforcement Directorate had last year framed charges against Sagar after investigation revealed that he illegally acquired money by resorting to malpractices in PMT-2012, pre-PG examination-2012, PMT-2013, and that he had deposited the illegal earnings in the regular banking channels and acquired various properties.

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(With ANI inputs)