Ashish Chaturvedi

Ashish Chaturvedi is an Indian whistleblower and activist known for his pivotal role in exposing Vyapam scam. in Madhya Pradesh, India.The Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB), also known by its Hindi acronym "Vyapam", is responsible for conducting several examinations that are used to select candidates for educational institutes and government jobs. A nexus of politicians, MPPEB officials and middlemen carried out massive irregularities in these exams, allowing undeserving candidates to be selected.
==Early life and background==
Ashish Chaturvedi was born on 19 March 1987 in Village Bandholi, Morar, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. He completed his schooling in the village of Kuleth, Gwalior. During this time, he was also a part of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Originally, Ashish intended to begin a career in Information technology, but his mother's cancer diagnosis in 2009 affected this plan. After initial medical treatment at Gwalior Cancer Hospital with no significant improvement, he quickly sought better medical attention for her. Ashish took his mother to Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai.
During his time at Tata Memorial Hospital, Ashish discovered that the doctors attending to his mother in Gwalior had been unskilled and provided insufficient care. Unfortunately, due to the negligence of the medical staff in charge of her care, his mother passed away in 2011 as a result of a surgical procedure gone wrong.
This devastating loss made Ashish realize that the local healthcare system in Gwalior was fundamentally flawed. Determined to understand the issue, he embarked on his own investigation and conducted extensive research. Through this project, he uncovered a significant network of fraudulent medical professionals who claimed to hold MBBS or master's degrees but had never undergone entrance examinations or subsequent evaluations. These individuals were actively practicing medicine and providing healthcare to patients in various hospitals and clinics across the state, despite lacking legitimate credentials.
==Vyapam scam==
In 2011, Ashish Chaturvedi stumbled upon irregularities in the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB), commonly known as Vyapam. Vyapam is responsible for conducting various entrance exams for professional courses and recruitment exams for government jobs in Madhya Pradesh.Chaturvedi discovered that the Vyapam exams were being manipulated through a nexus of politicians, bureaucrats, and middlemen involved in mass-scale cheating, impersonation, and bribery. He realized that deserving candidates were being denied opportunities while undeserving candidates were securing positions through unfair means.
So, Ashish coordinated a sting operation that revealed the participation of physicians, candidates, legislators, bureaucrats, and Vyapam employees in a corrupt organization and nexus. This syndicate permitted the admission of ineffective and unqualified medical professionals, endangering the lives of patients throughout the state and the country. In one case, a doctor who didn't want to be seen in public during the exam watched films in Bhopal while someone else sat his entrance exam in Delhi. After receiving proof via a sting operation film, Ashish made the initial complaint about the scam in 2011.
==Legal battle and activism==
Starting with his kidnapping in 2012 by a group of doctors who owed their degrees to the Vyapam scam, he became the target of numerous assassination attempts.
A total of 14 murder attempts were made against Ashish until 2014, but he always managed to escape. However, due to external pressures, the security provided to him began to pose a threat.
Chaturvedi filed multiple public interest litigations (PILs) in the Madhya Pradesh High Court, seeking a fair investigation and justice for the victims of the Vyapam Scam. The Supreme Court of India intervening in the case and ordering a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the matter.
In order to ensure a fair inquiry, the Supreme Court of India eventually handed over the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on July 9, 2015. 
Category:1987 births
Category:Living people
Category:Activists from Madhya Pradesh
Category:People from Gwalior
Category:Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh members
Category:Indian anti-corruption activists