CBI gave clean chit to MP CM under political pressure: Cong

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], Nov. 1 (ANI): A day after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) gave a clean chit to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Vyapam scam, the Congress on Wednesday said that the probe agency is working under political pressure.

Speaking to ANI, Congress leader K.K. Mishra said that CBI is a probe agency and not a court to give clean chit to the Chief Minister.

"CBI is a probe agency which works as per the directives of Supreme Court. CBI is no one to give clean chit to chief minister. The trial court will decide this. Chief Minister has himself accepted that Vyapam scam is a blot on his face. The CBI has tried to mislead the Supreme Court by presenting a false report under political pressure. This is disrespect to the apex court. The report is to defend the chief minister," he said.

Congress leader Pankaj Chaturvedi said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is trying to protect Shivraj Singh.

"The BJP is trying to shield their Chief Minister. The court will decide whether to give clean chit or not.I feel pity for them. CBI is not a court and its statement is the not the final statement," he added.

The CBI on Tuesday filed charge sheet against 490 accused in the Vyapam scam. The chargesheet filed in a special CBI court gave a clean chit to Shivraj Singh, whose name was dragged into the case by senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh.

The Vyapam scam is an admission and recruitment scam involving politicians, senior officials and businessmen in Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB), popularly known by its Hindi acronym "Vyapam"(Vyavsayik Pariksha Mandal).

The CBI rejected any tampering with evidence in the case as alleged by Digvijaya Singh.

The Congress leader had moved a writ petition in the Supreme Court in 2015, seeking forensic investigation of documents, including the hard disk recovered from the Vyapam office.

However, as per the CBI, the seized documents, including the hard disk, were sent to Hyderabad's Forensic Science Laboratory for examination and suggested no tampering.

Digvijaya Singh, in 2015, had also claimed to possess a pen drive that had the contact number of Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his wife, alleging that there had been exchange of messages between them and some of the Vyapam accused.

In May, the CBI informed the apex court that Digvijaya Singh will face action for allegedly running a campaign against Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in the scam on the basis of forged documents.

The scam involved 13 different exams conducted by Vyapam, for selection of medical students and state government employees (including food inspectors, transport constables, police personnel, school teachers, dairy supply officers and forest guards). The exams were taken by around 3.2 million students. (ANI)