Madhya Pradesh college in soup after peon found marking examination papers; inquiry results in several sackings

In a government college in Madhya Pradesh's Narmadapuram district, the job of marking university examination answer sheets had apparently changed so many hands that it finally ended up with a peon—initiating a scandal that has rocked the college.

At the center of the scandal is Shaheed Bhagat Singh Government PG College in Pipariya, where a video went viral featuring Pannalal Pathariya, a peon of the college, carefully marking Hindi answer sheets. According to a Times of India report, Pathariya has a master's degree in English and was spotted checking answers, making tick marks, and giving marks. All this is work meant to be done strictly by teaching staff.

The work was to be done by Khushboo Pagare, who is a guest lecturer for Hindi, but she outsourced the task due to "health problems", as revealed by an internal investigation. She allegedly paid Rs 7,000 to college book-lifter Rakesh Kumar Mehar to do the job. Mehar in turn outsourced the work to the peon and paid him Rs 5,000, keeping Rs 2,000 for himself.

The issue was highlighted when students complained and brought the video to the notice of local MLA Thakur Das Nagvanshi. After a formal investigation, Rakesh Kumar Verma, the principal and the evaluation nodal officer professor Ramghulam Patel, were suspended by the higher education department. Pagare, Mehar and Pathariya were dismissed on Wednesday.

In her affidavit, Pagare admitted to outsourcing the assessment, giving illness as the reason. But the consequences have been quick and severe.

Principal Verma, who has already been recommended to be removed thrice in the last three months, claims he is being unfairly targeted. "All this action against me is politically motivated by local representatives who wanted to have me removed as principal," he said to Times of India. "The university directly appointed a nodal officer for evaluation. I had no role in it, nor did I receive any payment from the university.

Verma has approached the high court once again now, seeking a stay for the second time. "Whatever happened in the evaluation may be wrong; it is a matter of investigation, but I have no role in it," he added.