7/10 Madhya Pradesh Exam Toppers From One Centre Sets Off Vyapam Alert

The ghost of the Vyapam scam, one of the most infamous and large-scale recruitment scandals to hit India, appears to have returned to Madhya Pradesh, with fresh allegations of large-scale examination rigging clouding the reputation of the Madhya Pradesh Employees Selection Board (ESB).

The board, formerly known as Vyapam, has found itself in the controversy a decade after the original scandal that implicated several high-profile politicians and bureaucrats in 2013.

The controversy revolves around the recent examination for the posts of Group 2 and Sub Group 4 Patwari - a revenue official, wherein seven out of the top ten scorers took their exams at the NRI College, Gwalior. This exam centre has strong links to BJP MLA Sanjeev Kushwaha, adding a political layer to the ongoing allegations.

These top scorers belonged to a minuscule fraction of the total examinees, their roll numbers ranging from 2488 7991 to 2488 9693, from a pool of roughly 1,700 candidates. Considering that 14 lakh individuals took the exam, the odds of such an occurrence have been called into question, triggering widespread speculation.

NDTV is in possession of answer sheets belonging to the top 10 scorers. The sheets reveal an unusual pattern: candidates signed their exam forms in Hindi, yet answered the papers in English. These candidates seemed to have accurately answered questions later cancelled by the ESB, for which no marks were ultimately awarded.

The examination was attended by 9.78 lakh students out of the 12.79 lakh applications received. The results were announced on June 30, with the list of the top 10 candidates following on Monday.

National Educated Youth Union (NEYU) representative Ranjit Kisanvanshi has alleged that exam papers were prematurely sold by brokers within Vyapam, bringing back memories of the original scam in 2013.

BJP MLA Sanjeev Singh Kushwaha, the owner of NRI College Gwalior, dismissed these allegations, attributing them to political motivations ahead of the impending elections.

On the other hand, former Higher Education Minister and Congress MLA Jeetu Patwari dubbed the issue a "black chapter in the history of the state." He pledged that if the Congress party comes to power, a thorough investigation will be launched.

The Staff Selection Board, at the centre of these accusations, has yet to respond to these allegations.

These recent developments rekindle memories of the infamous Vyapam scam that erupted in 2013, revealing that several exams conducted by the agency were rigged in exchange for money. The scam, which implicated several senior BJP leaders, led to nearly 1,000 FIRs and numerous chargesheets filed in different courts. The case was deemed so severe that the CBI was brought in for parts of the probe.