Got first whiff of Vyapam scam in 2007: Whistle-blower
At a time when the prime suspect in Vyapam scam Pankaj Trivedi would be presented in a court on April 30, whistle-blower Anand Rai talks about the first clue which he stumbled upon in 2007 which led to the entire probe in the case.
At a time when the prime suspect in Vyapam scam Pankaj Trivedi would be presented in a court on April 30, whistle-blower Anand Rai talks about the first clue which he stumbled upon in 2007 which led to the entire probe in the case.
Rai narrates the incident which goes back to his post graduation days in MGM medical college where Dr Jagdish Sagar, the kingpin of the entire Vyapam scam was also a student.
“Sagar was in the 2004 batch of PG in MGM medical college, Indore and was very famous in college. He was famous for the lavish life and the luxuries he would maintain despite being a medical student. This lavish life included maintaining an SUV as well. Back then almost everybody hailing from Gwalior knew that Sagar had some connections with which he could get anybody selected in medical test,” said Rai.
He adds, “I and Sagar knew each other as I was the junior doctors’ association (JDA) president and there was only some years of academic difference between us. But it was only when we travelled together to attend a marriage in Bhopal that I became aware of his intentions.”
While on their trip to Bhopal both Sagar and Rai stayed together at a hotel.
As soon as Sagar went out to meet somebody Rai started rummaging his suitcase.
“I had figured out that he has come here to fix some things which were not right. Figuring out his lock combinations which were 0786, I was shocked when I opened his suitcase as it was filled with documents and photographs of students. PMT admission forms were also kept in stacks there. But soon Sagar walked in and started giving lame explanations about the forms,” he said.
Unable to find out any other clue after that Rai states that he continued to pursue this case by regularly meeting people close to Sagar but it was only on July 5, 2009 that the first case was registered in the scam when a lot of medical students with poor academic history started securing top ranks in PMT.