Vyapam Scam: Doctor appearing as proxy in medical exam sent to 5-year Jail

A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Indore on Friday sentenced the doctor to undergo five years of jail and imposed Rs 1,000 fine in the fraud case.

The convicted Dr Manish Kumar, an MBBS graduate and student of MD, was hired as a proxy to write the medical exam. According to CBI, the accused became a doctor after giving a medical entrance test in Patna while on the run.

As per various media accounts, the accused (an impersonator in the written examination of PMT-2004 on behalf of the candidate) was absconding since 2004 after he was granted bail by the Trial Court.

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It was alleged that he was caught on the spot in the examination hall by the invigilators at the examination center in a college at Khandwa (MP) during the PMT-2004 examination on June 11, 2004. The said accused was charge-sheeted in absentia by Local Police along with the other accused. The Trial Court acquitted the candidate and the middleman, and did not pronounce the judgment against the absconding accused Manish Kumar, reports Daily Pioneer.

As per the daily, during CBI investigation, it was learnt that the doctor was absconding since 2004 itself. It was also alleged that he had wrongly mentioned his father's name and gave a wrong residential address of his village at District Patna (Bihar) in the statements/records. After intense and continuous efforts, CBI found his father's correct name and his address at Patna. It was also found that he completed his MBBS from Darbhanga (Bihar) in 2011 and was studying in MD from Varanasi (UP).

The case was handed over to the CBI in 2018 after the Vyapam scam surfaced in Madhya Pradesh. The CBI arrested the doctor from Patna and presented him before the court after which the trial started. After investigation, CBI filed a charge sheet on Jan 21, 2019. The trial of the case was continued during the pandemic situation of Covid-19. The Court found the accused guilty and convicted him.

Ranjan Sharma, Special Public Prosecutor, CBI told ANI, "Accused Manish Kumar was caught by the Flying Squad from Khandwa in 2004 while writing pre-medical entrance examination in place of Sant Kumar. A case of cheating was filed in Khandwa against Manish Kumar, Sant Kumar and Tarun Kumar. Later on, Sant Kumar and Tarun Kumar were acquitted by the court for lack of evidence. Manish went missing after being granted bail."

The Vyapam scam involved fraud in Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board that was unearthed in 2013. It involved 13 different exams conducted by Vyapam, for the selection of medical students and the state government employees.

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