Key MPPEB accused Sudhir Sharma surrenders before court

BHOPAL: Mining baron and a key accused in the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board's (MPPEB) police sub-inspector and constable recruitment exam, Sudhir Sharma surrendered before a local court here today. Sharma was absconding for a long time and the Special Task Force (STF) which is probing the MPPEB scam had announced a reward of Rs 5,000 on him.

The mining baron reached the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Pankaj Singh Maheshwari and surrendered, after which the judge informed the Special Task Force (STF) about it. Later, the STF filed an application in the court after which the magistrate handed over Sharma to the STF on a day's remand. The probe agency formally arrested Sharma in the court.

The STF's Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) D S Baghel informed the court that it wanted to arrest Sharma for his alleged involvement in the police constable and sub-inspector recruitment examination conducted by the MPPEB.

Sharma arrived in the court along with his lawyer Pratul Shandilya, who said that his client has been falsely implicated in the above two cases. Since an FIR was registered against him in these two cases, he wished to surrender before the court, his lawyer said.

Sharma, who was a school teacher, was very close to arrested former Higher and Technical Education Minister, Laxmikant Sharma. The court also directed the STF to submit the case diary related to the constable recruitment scam tomorrow in court.