STF on right track in MPPEB scam: Uma Bharti

Satna (MP), Jul 28: Union Minister and former State Chief Minister Uma Bharti said that the Special Task Force (STF) was moving in the right direction in probing the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) scam.

Speaking to reporters here yesterday, Bharti said that she had even suggested a CBI probe into the scam earlier as it had spread to other states too.

"(But now) I have seen that the STF in Madhya Pradesh is conducting its probe into the scam in the right manner. I had said once that the MPPEB scam was bigger than the fodder scam of Bihar and hence it needed to be investigated by the CBI," Bharti said.

On Friday, mining baron and key accused in the MPPEB police sub-inspector and constable recruitment exam scam, Sudhir Sharma surrendered before a local court. Sharma was absconding for a long time and the STF which is probing the scam had announced a reward of Rs 5,000 on him.

Over 100 students from different districts of Madhya Pradesh who allegedly cleared the Pre-Medical Test (PMT) through unfair means have already been arrested by STF, which also apprehended some top MPPEB officials since the scam surfaced in 2013. It also arrested former Higher and Technical Education Minister, Laxmikant Sharma for his alleged involvement in the contractual teachers recruitment scam.

The contractual teachers examination too was conducted by the MPPEB like the PMT. The arrests were carried out after Madhya Pradesh High Court, which is monitoring the scam, sought to know from the police as to why the high and mighty as well as the absconding accused in connection with the scam were not being arrested.

Speaking on linking various rivers, the Water Resources Development minister said that this will meet the country's energy needs. She blamed the previous Central governments for poor condition of rivers and said that they have been used as dust bins for the last 30-35 years.

PTI