Vyapam scam: Former Madhya Pradesh minister Laxmikant Sharma, 7 others given clean chit by CBI

Bhopal: In a major breakthrough in the Vyapam scam, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) gave a clean chit to former Madhya Pradesh minister Laxmikant Sharma and seven others on Saturday.[caption id="attachment_5440251" align="alignleft" width="380"]

Representational image. AFP[/caption]The premier investigation agency said that Sharma and the seven others accused were given a clean chit due to lack of evidence in the case. Furthermore, the CBI had filed a charge sheet against 26 people in connection to the Vyapam scam.On 18 December last year, a CBI court in Indore had sentenced Manoj, an accused in the case, to five years in prison.The Vyapam scam is an admission and recruitment fraudulent scheme, beginning in 1995, involving politicians, senior officials and businessmen in the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB).The admission and recruitment scam that was unearthed in 2013 pertains to alleged irregularities in the PMT-2013 examination conducted by the MPPEB, popularly known as 'Vyapam' (Vyavsayik Pariksha Mandal).