In a significant victory for one of the principal whistle blowers in the Vyapam Scam, Dr Anand Rai, the Madhya Pradesh government on Friday told the High Court it will post Rai and his wife back to Indore within three days.
Both Rai and his wife Gauri, who work in the health department, had been transferred to Dhar from Indore.
The government's order comes weeks after Rai had challenged their transfers and submitted an affidavit in the High Court alleging that he was offered a deal by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan in exchange of stopping his campaign against the scam.
"This is not just my victory. It is a victory for whistle blowers. The government's order will encourage others whistle blowers to come out and do their work without any fear," Dr Anand Rai told The News Minute, adding that his fight in the Vyapam scam will continue.
While Rai has been working in the health department in Indore since 2011, Gauri has been posted there from 2013.
In an affidavit submitted to the Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court, Rai alleged that Chauhan offered to cancel his transfer if he stopped campaigning against the Vyapam and DMAT scam, reported The New Indian Express.
However, his affidavit was not countered by Chauhan, and the Advocate General on Friday said that the couple will be posted back to Indore. The government will also pay their pending salaries within a week's time.
"They withdrew the transfer orders so that they do not have to respond to the affidavit. They cannot deny whatever I mentioned in my affidavit because I have proof to back it up," Rai said.
In his affidavit filed on September 2, Rai also alleged that the MP CM had asked for him to come to his official residence in Bhopal on August 11 and said that Rai and his wife's transfer would be cancelled if the former stopped targeting him and his family. Chauhan, according to Rai, even assured him that he would ask the Advocate General's office to submit in writing the revocation of transfers before the High Court.
S K Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, had then said that it was Rai who wanted to meet the CM to share some information relating to the scam, but however denied that any such offer was made to him, adds the report.
Rai had alleged that his and Gauri's transfers were a result of him exposing the involvement of several high-profile officials in the scams.
The Vyapam scam pertains to manipulation in the selection process for government jobs conducted by MPPEB which came to light after a report by the Madhya Pradesh Local Fund Audit office for 2007-08 found alleged financial and administrative irregularities, including unauthorized disposal of application forms, worth crores of rupees by the MPPEB.