Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) scrutinised data of 16 lakh medical students and doctors to nab 36 impersonators, who had taken Madhya Pradesh pre-medical test or MPPMT-2009 on the behalf of actual candidates and cleared it, said an officer of CBI.

CBI filed supplementary charge-sheets in the court of special magistrate in Gwalior on Tuesday against 126 accused including candidates, impersonators, parents/guardians and middlemen related to PMT-2009 conducted by Vyapam now known as Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB).

“CBI had registered the case on August 21, 2015 on the orders of Supreme Court of India. During CBI investigation, it was found that 36 candidates had allegedly arranged impersonators to appear in the written examination of MPPMT-2009 on their behalf with the help of middlemen, parents and accordingly they illegally passed the examination and got admission in a private medical colleges,” said CBI public relation officer RK Gaur said.

He suggested it required voluminous work by the CBI to nab the accused.

“CBI had prepared a database of around 16 lakh students including the students who were taking coaching of PMT in various institutes, MBBS students of various medical colleges and registered doctors of MP and Uttar Pradesh. CBI also took expert opinions from forensic experts on photographs and handwritings available on the OMR answer sheets of accused candidates,” said Gaur.

After comparing pictures and handwriting, CBI found some new impersonators, he added.

According to an investigating officer, this investigation took about more than four and a-half-years after the CBI had filed a charge-sheet against the accused booked by State’s special task force (STF) in June 2016.

In all, 3,500 people were made accused by the CBI in different cases and 250 of them are new accused, who were not identified by the probe conducted by STF.

The Vyapam scam came to light in July 2013 when Indore police arrested 20 impersonators appearing for medical entrance examination helping undeserving candidates to secure high ranks. The cheating net also involved a clique of politicians and bureaucrats that facilitated the fraud in exchange for bribes, according to investigators. The CBI took over the case in 2015.