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Bhopal CBI judge sits past 2 am to reject bail pleas as CBI chargesheets 592 accused in Vyapam scam

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9 years ago

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Bhopal CBI judge sits past 2 am to reject bail pleas as CBI chargesheets 592 accused in Vyapam scam

CBI filed its chargesheet in the scam related to PMT 2012 exams against 592 accused including 4 Vyapam officials, 26 officials of four private medical colleges

In a first, a special CBI court in Bhopal functioned till around 2.30 am on Friday, to hear and subsequently reject anticipatory bail pleas of over 30 persons – including owners of prominent medical colleges – who were named among 592 accused in a chargesheet filed by the CBI on Thursday in connection with the multi-crore-rupee Vyapam scam.

The CBI, which is investigating complaints of a slew of irregularities in the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MP-PEB) during the period between 2012 and 2013 which collectively are called the Vyapam scam, filed its chargesheet in the special CBI court with regard to malpractices during the pre-medical test (PMT) conducted by the board in 2012 on Friday.

The chargesheet names four Vyapam officials, three private persons/ racketeers; 22 middlemen; 334 Solvers & beneficiary candidates; 155 guardians of beneficiary candidates; 46 invigilators; two former officers of the state’s department of medical education, including the then Director; and 26 officials of four prominent private medical colleges based in Bhopal and Indore.

Thursday’s chargesheet by the CBI comes weeks after the agency filed a chargesheet against 490 accused persons including three Vyapam officials, three racketeers, 17 middlemen, 297 ‘solver & beneficiary’ candidates and 170 guardians of the beneficiary candidates in connection with alleged irregularities in the PMT 2013 conducted by Vyapam.

A statement issued by the CBI on Thursday evening with regard to the filing of the new chargesheet said that the agency’s probe into the irregularities committed during the PMT 2012 case “discovered that some racketeers along with their accomplices were allegedly arranging solvers for beneficiary candidates in the said examination.”

“The pairing of respective Solvers-Beneficiaries was being done by the racketeers by getting the roll numbers of these Solvers-Beneficiary candidates manipulated through Vyapam officials, such that a Beneficiary candidate was seated right behind his Solver. This enabled the Beneficiary to cheat and copy the answers from Solver. The CBI investigation also unraveled a further conspiracy including complicity of public servants of department of medical education and also management as well as college-level admission committee of four private medical colleges based at Bhopal and Indore,” the statement added.

While the allegations made by the agency against the accused persons are not new and instead are part of a pattern that can be seen in all Vyapam scam-related cases, what makesThursday’s court proceedings stand out is the decision of special CBI judge DP Mishra to continue hearing interim bail applications filed by over 30 accused well past court hours.

In proceedings that began at around 3 pm on Thursday afternoon and went on till around 2.40 am on Friday, special CBI judge DP Mishra rejected all interim bail applications moved by the accused – including pleas filed by chairman of Chirayu medical college Dr Ajay Goenka, Dr DK Satpathy, Dr Ravi Saxena, S N Saxena, Dr Vinayak Bhavsar, Dr Ashok Jain, Vinod Narkhede, and Dr S C Tiwari, People’s Medical College founding chairman Suresh Vijaywargiya, Dr Ashok Nagnath, the then joint director of People’s Medical College Dr NM Shrivastava and vice-chancellor of the People’s University Dr Vijay Kumar, among others.

During the proceedings on Thursday, the court had also issued arrest warrants against the accused persons who were not present for the Vyapam case hearing, including politically influential Ajay Goenka and Suresh Vijaywargiya, while it granted bail to 15 other accused, who had appeared before the court on the condition that they furnish bail bonds of Rs 1 lakh.

The four former Vyapam officials named in the PMT 2012 chargesheet by the CBI are then director Pankaj Trivedi, former system analysts Nitin Mohindra, Ajay Kumar Sen and CK Mishra. With the exception of Trivedi, the agency had named the others in its PMT 2013 chargesheet too.

A CBI spokesperson said about the agency’s investigation in the PMT 2012 case: “When we took over the investigation of this case, 145 accused persons were either unidentified or untraced. Majority of such accused persons were Solver candidates who in connivance with accused middlemen had given wrong addresses on their application forms and were thus, not traceable.”

The spokesperson added: “CBI used various techniques to identify these accused persons. During the course of investigation, CBI had discerned that these Solver candidates were amongst the medical college students or bright medical aspirants taking coaching in the States of MP, UP, Bihar, Delhi, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Maharashtra. Painstakingly, CBI collected pertinent details of students of various medical colleges and coaching institutes spread all over these States, and succeeded in preparing a database of more than 10 lakh (approx) such students.”

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Asish Banerjee found dead in Rampurhat, Mamata Banerjee aide’s death shocks TMC

Former West Bengal deputy speaker and five-time Rampurhat MLA Asish Banerjee was found dead at a Trinamool Congress office in Birbhum.

Published

6 hours ago

on

August 16, 2026

By

Mamata Banerjee

Former West Bengal Assembly deputy speaker and Trinamool Congress leader Asish Banerjee was found dead at a party office next to his residence in Rampurhat, Birbhum district, on Sunday morning.

Police said his body was found hanging and was sent for postmortem. A large crowd gathered outside the Trinamool Congress office after news of his death spread.

Who was Asish Banerjee?

Asish Banerjee had served as the deputy speaker of the West Bengal Assembly when Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee was the state’s chief minister. He was also a five-time MLA from Rampurhat.

He had served as Bengal’s education and agriculture minister after Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress first came to power in the state.

Banerjee contested the West Bengal Assembly election earlier this year but lost the Rampurhat seat to BJP’s Dhruba Saha.

Asish Banerjee’s recent party role

Banerjee stepped down as chairman of the Trinamool Congress’s Birbhum district core committee in June. At the time, he said he would continue as a general member of the party.

He lived in the Hattalapara neighbourhood of Rampurhat, with the party office where his body was found located next to his house.

BJP gains in Birbhum

The BJP won six of the 11 Assembly constituencies in Birbhum in the latest state election. This marked a significant change from 2021, when the Trinamool Congress had won 10 seats in the district while the BJP had secured one.

Police have sent Asish Banerjee’s body for postmortem as the circumstances surrounding his death are being investigated.

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IPS Officer Nupur Prasad gets Medal for Meritorious Service after Sushant Singh Rajput probe

IPS officer Nupur Prasad, who led the CBI investigation into Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, has been selected for the Medal for Meritorious Service this year.

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1 day ago

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August 15, 2026

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IPS officer Nupur Prasad, who led the CBI investigation into actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, has been recognised with the Medal for Meritorious Service (MSM) this year.

A 2007-batch AGMUT cadre officer, Ms Prasad recently returned to the Delhi Police after completing her tenure with the CBI. She is currently serving as Joint Commissioner of Police in the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), where she oversees investigations involving financial and economic crimes.

The award is part of this year’s recognition for police personnel for distinguished and meritorious service. Such honours recognise contributions in areas including investigation, crime prevention, public service, law and order and administration.

Nupur Prasad’s role in Sushant Singh Rajput case

Ms Prasad came into national focus during the CBI investigation into the death of Sushant Singh Rajput, who was found dead at his Mumbai residence on June 14, 2020.

The case was transferred to the CBI in August 2020 following a complaint by the actor’s family and a legal dispute over jurisdiction.

During her tenure with the agency, Ms Prasad supervised key aspects of the investigation, including the examination of witness statements, forensic evidence and medical records.

In 2025, the CBI filed closure reports, saying its investigation found no evidence of foul play, abetment to suicide or criminal conspiracy in the actor’s death.

Career across Delhi Police, CBI

Ms Prasad has served in several positions during her career, including assignments in the Delhi Police, CBI, Arunachal Pradesh and West Bengal.

Before joining the CBI, she held senior positions in the Delhi Police and became the first Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) of Shahdara. During her tenure, she worked on establishing the district’s policing framework following its creation.

She also led operations targeting drug networks and illegal gambling activities while focusing on crime-prevention measures.

Later, as DCP of North Delhi, she oversaw security arrangements for major events, including Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort and Delhi University elections.

Community-focused policing initiatives

Beyond investigations, Ms Prasad has been associated with community-focused programmes involving women’s self-defence, youth development, cyber safety and drug de-addiction.

During her CBI tenure, she was also associated with several prominent investigations. Media reports have linked her to cases concerning businessman Vijay Mallya and the AgustaWestland helicopter deal.

Current role in Delhi Police

After completing her assignment with the CBI, Ms Prasad returned to the Delhi Police and took charge as Joint Commissioner of Police in the Economic Offences Wing.

The latest recognition adds to her career spanning investigations, policing and public service across several challenging assignments.

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Kharge, Rahul Gandhi skip Independence Day event for 2nd straight year

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi skipped the 80th Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort for the second consecutive year.

Published

1 day ago

on

August 15, 2026

By

Rahul Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi skipped the 80th Independence Day celebrations at Delhi’s Red Fort for the second consecutive year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the Independence Day celebrations at the historic venue on Saturday.

The absence of the two senior Congress leaders comes amid strained relations between the ruling party and the Opposition, which further deteriorated during the Monsoon Session of Parliament that concluded on Thursday.

2024 seating controversy

Rahul Gandhi had attended the Independence Day celebrations in 2024 but his seating arrangement triggered a controversy. The Congress leader, who holds the status of a Cabinet minister as Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, was seated in the second-last row during the ceremony at the Red Fort.

The Opposition had criticised the seating arrangement, calling it an insult to the people. The Defence Ministry, which organised the event, said the arrangement had been modified to accommodate Olympians at the venue.

According to protocol, the Leader of the Opposition is seated in the front row during ceremonial events.

Opposition-ruling party tensions

Relations between the government and the Opposition remained tense during the Monsoon Session, which ended on Thursday.

The session saw repeated clashes between the two sides, with both the Opposition and the ruling party blaming each other for the low productivity of Parliament.

The session began on July 20, with students marching towards Parliament on the first day. Twelve bills were passed during the session, while detailed discussion took place on only one legislation, concerning paper leaks.

The Congress, along with the Trinamool Congress and Samajwadi Party, also boycotted the customary tea party hosted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla after the House was adjourned sine die.

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