Sunday interview - ‘Munna Bhais have become doctors’

Prashant Pandey, digital forensic expert and whistleblower who was once roped in by the Madhya Pradesh police to probe the Vyapam scam, says what has been exposed so far is only the tip of the iceberg. In an interview to Pramod Kumar, Mr Pandey says that only a probe monitored by the Supreme Court, and not merely an investigation by the CBI, is needed, as there is every probability of it being ‘influenced’ by the Centre.

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How did you discover the Vyapam scam in the recruitment and admission process in Madhya Pradesh?

Vyapam stands for Mad-hya Pradesh Vyavasayik Pareeksha Mandal (also called Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board). It recruits people for government jobs and admissions to educational institutes, including medical and engineering colleges. Vyapam has been accused of fraud since 2008. I can prove that the office of the Chief Minister, Governor, other ministers and IAS officers are beneficiaries of the scam and so are the family members of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Madhya Pradesh police had initially roped me in to investigate the scam few years back. They suddenly arrested me in August 2014, suspecting that I leaked sensitive information whi-ch I had retrieved from a hard disk seized from the Vyapam office in July 2013. They (state government functionaries) levelled several allegations against me. They, in fact, tried to eliminate me. Finally, I decided to expose them.

Who are the beneficiaries that you are talking about?

I cannot say much about it right now. I have already sought a Supreme Court-monitored probe. Although the Supreme Court has transferred the Vyapam case to the CBI and the matter of deaths of various people who were linked with it, the apex court is likely to take a call on the issue of monitoring the probe in the next hearing. The truth will certainly come out after the SC-monitored investigations starts. I would like to say that there are many influential people involved in the scam, including the Chief Minis-ter’s office. Mr Chouhan cannot escape responsibility. He was incharge of medical education between 2008 and 2012.

According to Mr Chou-han, it was he who ex-posed the Vyapam scam when he came to know that large-scale irregularities were being committed in the pre-medical test examination. Is his claim incorrect?

If he was clean, then why was Mr Chouhan afraid of referring the matter to the CBI? Why did the SC have to intervene? It is to the credit of Mr Chouhan that during his government several Munna Bhais — those candidates who cannot even clear secondary examination on their own — have become doctors in Madhya Pradesh. Proxy candidates were used for recruitment exams for government teachers and doctors. Around 70 lakh candidates paid bribes as part of the multi-crore scam. Let a Supreme Court-monitored probe begin; everything will be clear.

What was the role of Madhya Pradesh Governor Ram Naresh Yadav in the scam?

The Supreme Court has already sought reply from the authorities concerned. Notices have been issued to Mr Yadav, Central and state governments on a plea to prosecute the governor over his alleged complicity in the scam. Further, the Supreme Court sought replies on the plea to remove him, but it refrained from passing any immediate order on this. All I can say is that it is a well-known fact that Mr Yadav was himself an accused in the scam before getting relief from the court. His son, Shailesh Yadav — wanted by the Madhya Pradesh Special Task Force in connection with the Vyapam scam — was found dead under mysterious circumstances in his Lucknow home in March.

Do you think there was any compulsion due to which no action was taken against Mr Yadav?

Both (Mr Chouhan and Mr Yadav) are blackmailing each other; it’s a catch-22 situation. Both are scared of each other. The state government was scared of the Governor, a constitutional authority who can create a crisis whenever he wants. This is the reason that action was not initiated against Mr Yadav. If Mr Yadav opens his mouth, all hell will break loose for the BJP.

Vyapam is more in the news for the deaths of certain accused in the scam or somehow related to it. Most of the deaths (around 40, according to reports) have taken place in suspicious circumstances.

This is the biggest scam in the history of India in terms of the accused (around 3,800) and FIRs (140). The government functionaries (suspected public servants and politicians) appointed hundreds of middlemen in each district and division in the state for collecting money and bringing clients. So when a CBI probe was ordered, nobody wanted to leave traces.

You mean all deaths are linked to the scam, one way or the other?

I think so. If some deaths are not linked to the scam, as claimed by Mr Chouhan or other BJP leaders, then why don’t they prove that they were natural deaths or not connected to the Vyapam scam?

So, you believe that evidence is being destroyed?

Yes, of course. I know that Mr Chouhan had recommended a number of candidates for admission in medical colleges and other institutes. The original list was tampered with to transfer the blame on rival leaders and other ministers.

The Madhya Pradesh government has said that all allegations regarding tampering with the hard disk are subject to scrutiny by the high court in Jabalpur.

Let the Supreme Court-monitored probe begin. The CBI will find that the hard disk was tampered.

The state government said that the contents of the pen drive and other documents provided by you were apparently forged with the intention of misleading the investigating agency. Is that true?

Let the state government prove it before the central agencies — the CBI and the enforcement directorate (ED).

You mean the Special Task Force, which was probing the scam, was not doing its job properly?

The STF comes under the state government; no one expected them to do a fair investigation. Do you know that the STF officers are receiving threat calls?

Now that the matter has been referred to the CBI, you must be satisfied with the decision?

No. Merely handing over the probe to the CBI is not enough. It should be Supreme Court -monitored.

Why is Uma Bharti, minister for water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation, scared?

I will not comment on that.

Are you scared for your life even after the security that has been provided to you?

Yes, I am. Also, I am scared about the safety and security of my family members. The security provided to me is naught. I have no security outside Madhya Pradesh. And what sort of security are you talking, anyway? It’s useless. One security guard has been given to me. He, too, is present from 11 am to 5 pm only.  You can imagine the level of security  when a whistleblower was attacked 20 times.

The Madhya Pradesh government has accused you of “playing into the hands of people with political affiliation”.

So, the scam is justified? Rubbish.