The Special Task Force (STF) arrested former higher Education Minister laxmikant Sharma in connection with the State’s professional examination board (MPPEB) scam here on Sunday.
Confirming the arrest, an STF official said Sharma was earlier interrogated at his house for two hours and brought to the STF office in a police vehicle. The name of the former minister and his several associates had cropped up in the scam. However, Sharma and his close aide and businessman Sudhir Sharma only had been called for interrogation.
The former minister is expected to be produced before the court on Monday.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is also expected to return here on Monday at the end of his week-long visit to South Africa.
The detention of Sharma, who was an influential minister during the previous regime, has ignited politics in the state. Several undeserving candidates had obtained jobs as contract teachers and on other posts for which examinations were conducted by the MPPEB by paying heavy amounts.
Many other candidates had secured admissions in medical colleges in similar manner.
Sharma, his close associate Sudhir Sharma and the names of several other prominent persons came up during the investigation. Sharma’s name has been involved particularly in the Contract Teachers Grade-I Examination, Contract Teachers Grade-II Examination and other examinations.
Earlier, the STF had called the former minister for interrogation before the lok Sabha polls.
The STF has announced a reward of Rs 5,000 on information leading to the arrest of Sudhir Sharma. He was asked to appear for interrogation before the STF but he did not comply.
Several petitions relating to the MPPEB scam are pending in the state’s High Court in Jabalpur. The High Court had directed the STF to probe the matter seriously or else it could consider handing over the matter to the CBI.
Reacting to the arrest, state Congress president Arun Yadav said that the arrest should have taken place at least six months before. The real truth behind the scam would come to light when the real culprits are arrested. He alleged that the real culprits had still not been arrested.
Meanwhile, Higher and Technical Education Minister Umashankar Gupta said that the STF had full freedom to investigate the matter. The state government has no plan of intervention.
In a statement, state Congress vice-president Manak Agrawal said the STF was under the state government. Hence, an impartial inquiry against people on government posts or connected to it was not possible. He stressed that a CBI probe should be ordered in the matter.