VYAPAM REDUX?

A series of dubious “coincidences” that have come to light in the results of a recruitment test conducted by the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB), previously known as Vyapam, has led to the launch of an investigation.

- Rahul Noronha

On February 11 and 12, the MPPEB had conducted tests for the recruitment of 823 rural agriculture extension officers and senior agriculture development officers. Taken online, the candidates had received their test results on the spot. On February 17, the MPPEB also uploaded the answer sheets on its website, which the candidates could access using their roll numbers.

The similarities in the toppers’ answer sheets were identified by a group of candidates who decided to carry out their own investigation after a staff member at the exam centre told them about some candidates boasting about their high chances of being selected. They used the roll numbers and date of birth of the top 10 candidates to access their answer sheets and found that all save one were from the same community and hailed from either Bhind or Morena district.