After arrest, Vyapam whistleblower Anand Rai suspended from government job

Vyapam scam whistleblower Dr Anand Rai, who was arrested by Madhya Pradesh Police from a hotel in New Delhi, was suspended from his service on Friday.

Dr Rai is a medical officer at Hukumchand Hospital, Indore. After his suspension, he has been attached to the joint director, health office in Rewa district. A notification regarding his suspension was issued by the health department of Madhya Pradesh government. He has been suspended on the grounds of dereliction of duty.

Apart from dereliction of duty, the health department has also accused him of sharing posts on social media regarding Madhya Pradesh Teacher Eligibility Test (MP-TET) paper leak. It also stated that an FIR was lodged against Dr Rai at Kanadia police station in Indore and he has been booked under various sections, including 323, 294 and 149 of IPC.

"Health department has suspended Dr Rai on grounds of dereliction of duty. He was found absent on his duty. Dr Rai had also made comments against the government," CMHO Indore Dr B.S. Setia said.

Dr. Rai's arrest and suspension came after his petition filed in the High Court with a prayer to get an FIR lodged against Laxman Singh Markam, OSD of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, was dismissed by the High Court.

Markam lodged the complaint with police against Dr Rai after a screenshot of MP Teacher Eligibility Test (MP-TET) question paper went viral on social media in which the name of one Laxman Singh was visible in the screen shot. Dr Rai questioned who was this Laxman Singh?

The High Court, while quashing the FIR, made observations that Dr Rai was a whistleblower but it didn't mean that he would level any allegation against an innocent person and he had no right to make any caste-based comment.

Political reaction to his arrest began immediately after his arrest from New Delhi. Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath raised questions on his arrest. "Vyapam scams continued in Madhya Pradesh. It is regrettable that instead of taking action against the scamsters, repressive action is being taken against those who raise their voices," Nath said, adding that the government is trying to suppress the voice of truth.