BHOPAL: In connection with the Vyapam scam, a Special CBI court in Bhopal on Thursday convicted five people and sentenced them to seven years rigorous imprisonment.
A fine of Rs 10,000 has also been issued by the court, and their two co-accused were freed because there was insufficient proof against them.
The convicted individuals who represented the CBI in court, were complicit in a scheme involving the 2013 Police Constable Exams, said Special Public Prosecutor Satish Dinkar.
The accused participated in an "engine-bogie" scheme in which seating arrangements were changed so that a paid better student could sit between two less intelligent ones and copy answers.
Of the five people who had their sentences handed down, four, namely Kamal Kishor, Amar Singh, Nagendra Singh, and Suresh Singh, had employed dummy candidates in the exams, while one had taken the place of another candidate.
32 witnesses who were involved in this case were all subjected to cross-examination in court. The decision was made on Thursday by Justice Nitiraj Singh Sisodiya, who is hearing the Vyapam case, based on their testimonies and 200 pages of papers pertaining to the scam "Dinkar said.
54 of the 160 cases involving the multi-layer Vyapam Scam that the CBI discovered in 2013 and further probed are being heard in the Bhopal District Court, while the remaining cases are being heard in various courts in Indore, Gwalior, and Jabalpur.
Approximately 50% of the cases have been dropped, and the major case, in which more than 1300 accused (engine-bogi) parties are involved, is currently in court, the police said. Notably, all of the main suspects in the case, including Vyapam personnel from Madhya Pradesh, are out of bail.
Charred body found in car, police engaged in solving the case
GF in room with another boy, provoked Lover did this
Big sex racket busted in Meerut, 14 couples found in objectionable condition