Congress Demands CBI Probe Into Madhya Pradesh Exam Scam

Bhopal: Congress today demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI probe into alleged Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) scam relating to use of fradulent means in premedical tests and recruitment to government services.

A CBI probe is needed to unearth the "nexus among middlemen, politicians, bureaucrats and education mafia which is behind the scam," the chief spokesperson of state Congress unit KK Mishra told reporters in Bhopal.

"This mega scam was going on in the state because of the close nexus among the middlemen, politicians, bureaucrats and education mafia. There is a need to conduct a detailed probe into the scam which is possible only by handing it (the probe) over to CBI," Mr Mishra said.

Mr Mishra claimed he was in possession of some SMSes which were purportedly sent by various people, including politicians and even some journalists among others, to the MPPEB exam controller Pankaj Trivedi and the system analyst Nitin Mahindra--both the main accused in the case--and mining baron Sudhir Sharma.

While both Trivedi and Mahindra were arrested, Sharma is absconding. The Special Task Force (STF) probing the scam had already announced a reward of Rs 5000 for any information on Sharma.

Mr Mishra also showed a "list" which he claimed is of candidates who had appeared in the examination for the post of contractual teachers, conducted by MPPEB, on "recommendations of influential politicians including union minister Uma Bharti and Raj Bhawan".

When contacted, state BJP general secretary Nandkumar Singh Chouhan said in a statement that "the allegations related to the MPPEB scam are baseless and concocted.''

"It seems there is a lack of confidence within Congress organisation these days...The Special Task Force is doing its job in a fair manner and the Congress is levelling these baseless allegations to remain in limelight," the statement said.