The Madhya Pradesh government has sacked whistle-blower Anand Rai, an ophthalmologist at Indore’s Hukumchand Government Hospital, for allegedly spreading false information against chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and other officials on social media.
Rai was the whistle-blower in the Vyapam scam, which surfaced in 2013 and involved undeserving candidates allegedly securing high ranks by either getting proxies to impersonate them in tests or through cheating. Politicians and bureaucrats allegedly facilitated the fraud in exchange for bribes. At least 16 people associated with the racket died mysteriously.
Vyapam is the Hindi acronym for the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board, which conducts examinations for professional courses and government jobs.
In an order on Monday, the state health services department said Rai was found guilty after he was suspended last year for his absence from duty. It added a departmental inquiry found all allegations levelled against Rai to be true. “The investigation report received from the investigating officer was made available to the delinquent officer Dr. Anand Rai by the directorate [of health services] and his defence representation was sought within the prescribed time period, which remained unreceived,” said the order.
Rai, who also faces two criminal cases, said he has been “awarded” for exposing corruption. “I was working to raise awareness among tribals about their rights and Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP]-led state government could not digest that. Now, I will contest elections.”
Opposition Congress leader Anand Jat accused the ruling party of doing dirty politics. “It is sad that democracy is being crushed by BJP. A man who exposed the biggest scam has been sacked.”
BJP leader Hitesh Bajpai maintained Rai was found guilty of a violation of service rules after an inquiry. “He was asked to reply but he did not. The action was taken according to the rules.”
