CBI registers FIR against former MP Minister, his OSD

CBI today registered an FIR against former Higher Education Minister of Madhya Pradesh Laxmikant Sharma and his aide Om Prakash Shukla in connection with the alleged involvement in Constable recruitment through Vyapam with total number of FIRs going to 13.
The agency took over investigations in the case of alleged alteration of Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets by the employees of Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board also known as Vyapam in Transport Constable Recruitment Test 2012.
CBI sources said the case has been registered against 52 persons including Sharma and his ex-Officer on Special Duty Shukla under IPC provisions of criminal conspiracy, cheating forgery among others besides sections 3(1-2), 4 of MP Recognised Exams Act 1937, Sections 65, 66 of IT ACT and Sections 13(2) r/w 13(1)(d) of Prevention of Corruption Act.

It is alleged that the preferred candidates were asked to leave their OMR sheets blanks and were given high per cent of marks. The sheets were later filled on the basis of answer keys according to numbers given to preferred candidates.
The agency has so far registered 13 FIRs in connection with various Vyapam scam cases, including the death of an MBBS student Namrata Damor. Her body was found near the railway tracks in Ujjain district and police had initially probed it suspecting murder. However, it later closed the case concluding it was accidental death.
Clearing the air about number of preliminary enquiries, CBI has said so far five preliminary inquiries have been registered as death of nine persons linked with Vyapam is being inquired as one inquiry.

A 40-member CBI contingent headed by Joint Director R P Agarwal, a 1986 batch Assam-Meghalya cadre IPS officer, is probing the Vyapam cases.
A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu had on July 9 transferred the probe of all Vyapam cases, including the related deaths, to CBI.