Cheques and balances

Whistle-blowers often complain about the immense pressure brought to bear on them, but Anand Rai, the Indore-based doctor who blew the lid off the Vyapam (Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board) scam, has found a reason to smile. He posted images of a cheque of Rs 31,900, which he had received as honorarium from a news channel for participating in some of its panel discussions, on his Facebook page. The accompanying message read, "Thx NDTV for honorarium..varna Shivraj ji ne to ghar hi baithta diya tha [Thanks NDTV for this honorarium; more so because (Chief Minister) Shivraj Singh Chouhan has rendered me jobless]." After he lodged a complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation against senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Union minister Vikram Verma, Rai was shunted from Indore to Dhar district. Two weeks before that, his wife, a gynaecologist, was shifted from Mhow, a suburb of Indore, to Ujjain.