The ghost of the infamous Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (PEB), widely known as the Vyapam scam, has resurfaced in dramatic fashion after law enforcement authorities initiated criminal proceedings in a recruitment fraud case over a decade after the offense occurred. The Madhotal police in Jabalpur registered a comprehensive First Information Report (FIR) on Monday night against a selected candidate, identified as Vivek Singh, along with an unidentified impersonator (dummy solver). The duo has been booked under stringent provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Madhya Pradesh Recognized Examinations Act for orchestrating an impersonation conspiracy during the 2013 Police Constable Recruitment Examination. The case underscores how legacy irregularities continue to plague the recruitment database of the state's examination board despite systemic overhauls.

Impersonation at Jabalpur Center: Dummy Solver Clears Exam, Candidate Secures Selection

According to detailed investigation dossiers released by the district police, the fraudulent incident took place in April 2013 when the accused candidate, Vivek Singh, was allotted an examination center situated at a private college within the jurisdictional limits of the Madhotal police station. Instead of appearing in person, Singh allegedly hired a professional solver to write the examination paper on his behalf. The proxy examinee marked the OMR answer sheets and provided biometric thumb impressions on official attendance logs, successfully avoiding invigilation checks on the examination day. Driven by the solver's score, Singh was officially declared selected in the final constable recruitment merit list released by the board. Madhotal Police Station In-charge Virendra Singh Panwar confirmed that the solver’s identity remains withheld under the 'unidentified' category in the FIR, with targeted forensic sweeps underway to unmask the operative.

Biometric Verification at 10th Battalion SAF Exposes Fraud via OMR Thumbprint Mismatch

The scam began unraveling during the mandatory post-selection onboarding and physical scrutiny conducted by state police headquarters. Suspecting discrepancies in Singh's biometric profile, senior officials dispatched the recruit's documentation to the 10th Battalion of the Special Armed Forces (SAF) stationed in Sagar for exhaustive biometric verification. Expert fingerprint analysts and forensic examiners compared the thumb impressions recorded on the original April 2013 OMR answer sheet against Singh's live biometric samples taken during physical induction. The comparative microscopic analysis established a definitive mismatch, confirming that an unauthorized impersonator took the seat in the examination hall. Following the conclusive verification, SAF authorities transmitted an official investigation report to the Jabalpur police apparatus, directly triggering criminal registration.

Unanswered Questions Over 13-Year Administrative Inertia and Ongoing Inquiry

While the registration of the FIR marks formal legal accountability, the extraordinary 13-year lag between the examination in 2013 and the filing of charges in September 2026 has raised serious governance questions regarding administrative efficiency. Station In-charge Virendra Singh Panwar indicated that the local police acted promptly upon receiving the official communication from the SAF Sagar unit requesting formal registration of the crime. However, administrative channels have offered no official explanation for why the forensic verification and institutional reporting process remained stalled for over a decade. Investigative teams have now broadened their scope to probe whether bureaucratic negligence or intentional concealment by recruitment insiders contributed to the delay, with further arrests anticipated as documentation unfolds.