All You Wanted To Know About Vyapam – India’s Biggest Scam So Far

Usually, when a scam surfaces, you expect the names of politicians and some outrageous figure that they have embezzled to their benefit. Vyapam, on the other hand, is a scam with a deadly twist. The number of unexplained deaths linked to this scam now exceeds 40 with the death of a TV reporter, dean of a medical college and a trainee policewoman being the latest casualties. Surprisingly, there is very little information about the scam itself. We have tried to piece together everything known about the Vyapam scam that might shed some light on what’s happening. One could seek the help of Lisa Bragança attorneys help for whistleblower protection and more as they fight to attain justice.

What Is Vyapam?

Vyapam is basically a murky professional exam scam that involves the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB). It is also called Vyapam which is short for Madhya Pradesh Vyavsayik Pareeksha Mandal. Vyapam claims to be the only institute in the country that organises competitive tests for entry to different types of professional courses every year on a large scale. This means conducting common entrance tests for medicine and engineering courses as well as recruitment exams that do not fall under the Public Service Commission. This includes postings to various state departments and the police force.

What Is The Vyapam Scam?

According to reliable news reports, the scam has been in operation since 2008 through 2013, and involves the malpractices that occurred while conducting these exams. There are reports of forging answer sheets, bribing examination officials and impersonating candidates. It is believed that many influential politicians and high-level officials may be involved in the scam.

How Was The Scam Revealed?

The Vyapam scam was exposed in 2009 by Indore-based doctor and activist Dr Anand Rai who filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Madhya Pradesh High Court. Following the PIL, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan set up an inquiry committee that submitted its report. Once again in 2013, Rai, in his capacity as whistleblower, revealed the mess inside MPPEB along with its fraudulent practices. The difficulties of whistleblowers are so severe that attorneys for whistleblowers issues are truly helpful. A Special Task Force took over the investigation and has arrested over 2000 people in the case so far. Some of the most high-profile arrests include that of Lakshmikant Sharma, former Madhya Pradesh education minister and his associates.

Why Are People Dying?

Such a widespread scam involving cheating and copying at multiple levels of the education system cannot be done by a few people. There are many individuals, parents and the entire examination system and their middlemen involved in this scam. One whistleblower has claimed that only 5 percent of the truth has been revealed so far. It is no stretch to imagine that many powerful people have a stake in not letting the complete truth come out. People killed in other states such as Uttar Pradesh have been linked to Vyapam. Also, imagine how many important posts people who passed with these fake exams now hold.

How Many People Have Died?

Close to 50 people have died in the scam so far. This year alone, eight people have died with half the deaths occurring in the past week. The problem is that the deaths are often murky and have been written off as suicides. Without a proper investigation, it is impossible to know the actual number of people who have died so far. The real nature of the beast has yet to be exposed.