HC notice to MP govt on plea of Vyapam scam whistle-blower

The Madhya Pradesh High Courthas issued a notice to the state government on a petition of awhistle-blower of the multi-crore Vyapam admission andrecruitment scam, after he alleged that he was unlawfullydetained for 18 hours in connection with the case in 2018.

Justice S A Dharmadhikari of the high court's Gwaliorbench on Tuesday gave four weeksto the state government andother respondents to reply to a writ petition filed by thescam whistle-blower, Ashish Chaturvedi, seeking compensation.

On August 9, 2018, police produced Chaturvedi (29) ina special court here following a warrant issued against himfor not deposing in the Vyapam case, Chaturvedi's advocate DPSingh told PTI on Thursday.

Chaturvedi did not record his statement at that time,saying he was the complainant in the case.

He had told the court he would depose only after theinvestigation into the case is over, Singh said.

The court imposed a fine of Rs 200 on him, saying ifhe fails to pay it, he should be sent in judicial custody for15 days, Chaturvedi's lawyer said.

''On August 9, 2018, Chaturvedi deposited the finebefore the close of the court's working at 4.30 pm and hence,the court ordered that Chaturvedi be let off,'' he said.

Even after the court's direction, Chaturvedi was sentto jail, where some of the accused in the Vyapam scam are alsolodged, he alleged.

He walked out of the jail the next day after ''18hours'', Singh said.

In his petition filed the high court, Chaturvedi hassaid the ''unlawful'' detention has tarnished his unblemishedcharacter and career.

''My client is seeking a heavy compensation,'' Singhsaid.

The scam refers to irregularities in exams held by theMadhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board, also calledVyavasayik Pareeksha Mandal or Vyapam, for admission inprofessional courses and state services.

Multiple criminal cases related to the scam have beenfiled in different parts of the state.

Initially, a special task force of the state policehad conducted an investigation into the scam.

In 2016, the Supreme Court directed the Central Bureauof Investigation (CBI) to conduct a probe into the scam.