The Black Friday

     The 12th of March, 1993 is considered as a black friday in Indian history. On this day, something happened which shook the entire nation. 

     Why is it called a Black Friday?
          On this day, 12th of march, 1993, Bombay was shook with 13 bomb explosions across the city. These explosions were the worst in Indian history both in terms of the explosion and also in terms of the number of casualties. Some sources state the number of deaths to 257 while some other sources state it to be above 300. Also, more than 1000 people were injured in the blasts. It is said that these serial bomb blasts were one-of-its-kind across the world. 
     Where did it all start?
          A mosque was built in the place of the Ram Janmabhoomi(birth place of Lord Rama), Ayodhya by Mir BAqi in the 16th century. The members of Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) along with political support of the BJP conducted a rally in Ayodhya on that place. The court had ordered police protection of the Masjid but the members of VHP and several other people, around 2,00,000, stormed into the Masjid, demolishing it with hammers and with their bare hands. They first demolished the three tombs with hammers and then removed each brick till the entire mosque was down. They also took down several other mosques in the town and also houses of muslims in the area. 
          This led to violent riots between Hindus and Muslims in the country. The riots resulted in about 2000 deaths. The riots continued for 2 months. 
          The 1993 Mumbai Blasts, initiated by Dawood Ibhrahim and Tiger Memon, were mainly due to anger as a result of demolition of the mosque 2 months back. 
                           

     The Blasts-
          Commonly called as 1993 Bombay Bombings, 13 bombs exploded in the city of Bombay, first explosion being at 1.30 pm in the basement of The Bombay Stock Exchange. The blasts continued till 3.40 pm with a total of 13 bombs exploded in the city. Places attacked includes

• Shiv Sena Bhavan
• Fisherman's Colony
• Plaza Cinema
• Zaveri Bazaar
• Hotel Sea rock
• Katha Bazaar
• Century Bazaar
• Sahar Airport
• Air India Building
• Hotel Juhu Centaur
• Worli
• Bombay Stock Exchange
• Passport office

                                 

          The bomb at the Stock Exchange exploded in the basement. It was planted in a car. Most of the bombs were planted in cars and bikes and in hotels, the bombs were kept in briefcases and left in the rooms which were booked by the attackers.

     Investigations and Aftermath-

          Mumbai police were so quick in the investigations and found out some of the main accused in the blasts within 48 hours. The Memon family were the prime accused. Dawood Ibrahim, said to be the don of Mumbai and leader of terrorist group, the D-Company. Since then, Tiger Memon and Dawood, both prime accused are on the run. 

          Sharath Pawar, the then Chief Minister of Mumbai, was also held for misstatements to the public. He misguided the public saying that a Muslim community was also attacked in the blasts so that people do not take this as a religious issue and to also avoid communal clashes. 

     Arrests-

          Around 100 people were arrested in the case. The masterminds behind the attack, Dawood, Tiger Memon, Ayub Memon and Yakub Memon were still on the run. Months after the blasts, Sanjay Dutt was arrested for possessing illegal weapons and without license. He was sentenced 5 years imprisonment. 

          The weapons and bombs were smuggled to Mumbai from Raigad. Several policemen were arrested for conspiracy for allowing the RDX inside Mumbai. Several customs officials were also arrested in this case for the same reason. 

          Several other arrested who were involved in planting bombs were locals, economically weak, who were persuaded to take revenge for the demolition of Babri Masjid.

     Present day-

          Dawood and Tiger Memon are still absconding and are said to be in Pakistan to which the Pakistan government denies. Yakub Memon, one of the chief accused is to be hanged on 30th July, 2015. Yakub's mercy plea was rejected by the president. 

          Some of D-Company's Hindu members like Chotta Shakeel and Sadhoo Shetty has left Dawood's gang. They have killed several people accused in the 1993 blasts.

The Vyapam Scam

     Have you watched the famous Bollywood movie, Munnabhai MBBS? In the movie, Munnabhai clears the entrance examination by hiring a Proxy by threatening the proxy to write and clear the exam. The proxy in that movie is a member of that institution where Munnabhai wanted to get admission. The Vyapam Scam is similar to that movie. 
                         

     What is Vyapam?
          Vyapam is a short form for the board, Vyavasayik Pariksha Mandal. This board conducts several entrance exams and tests for people desiring government jobs in various fields in Madhya Pradesh. Vyapam was set up in 1970 as a pre-medical test board by the Madhya Pradesh Government. It is a fully autonomous self-financed board. It controls exams of upto 40 government departments including jobs constable jobs, jobs for nurses, teachers etc.
     What is the Scam all about?
          Pay and clear. Candidates desirous of government jobs in various fields are required to take up the entrance exams and tests in the particular field. Some rich and corrupt candidates along with some corrupt politicians and members of the Vyapam have made a mess of these exams. Students can clear examinations even without appearing for it. They bribe middlemen, politicians and other people with enough power to help them clear their exams. 
     How does the Scam work?
          1. Proxy- Brilliant students would be made to take up the examinations in the place of those who desire to clear by bribing. The ID card details of those students would remain the same except for the photograph. The photo on the card would be of the person taking the exam and not of the person whose card it actually is. This change is done with the help of examination board officials. Once the exam is over, the photos are replaced with the original ones. The student would clear the exams with brilliant numbers which they have never appeared for. The officials and people involved in this fraud are paid heavily.
          2. Engine and Bogie- This method goes by the name. How a engine guides a bogie to the destination. Similarly, a person with enough knowledge about the exam is arranged to be seated next to a candidate who has bribed the officials. The candidate is allowed to copy in the exam and he clears the exams without any effort. The examiners and exam officials are bribed heavily to fix these arrangements.
          3. OMR Sheets- The candidates are asked to leave the OMR sheets blank in the exam. Later, they are awarded with high marks in the exam. Then, the officials would file a RTI against the candidate's answer sheets. The answer sheets would then be filled according to the marks already allotted to the candidate. This is done to remove loopholes in the fraud. 
     Taking the Wraps off.
          The wraps were off the scam in July, 2013 when 8 people were arrested as they tried to appear as a proxy for candidates. The police arrested them on a tip from a  whistleblower, Dr.Anand Rai. On interrogation, the name of the kingpin behind the scam came to light, Dr.Jagdish Sagar. Since then, nearly 2000 people engaged in the scam, most of them candidates, are arrested by the police and 500 are still on the run. Since this arrest, 56 police complaints and FIRs have been filed. This scam was handled by a Special Task Force (STF) on orders by the MP Government. 
          Congress requested for a CBI probe as they alleged that STF was formed in a hurry to set aside the idea of a CBI probe. The SC has ordered a CBI probe in July, 2015. 
     Some among the arrested- 
         Laxmikant Sharma (Ex-education minister), O.P.Shukla (an Officer on Special Duty), Sudhir Sharma (Mining Businessman), R.K.Shivare (IAS Officer), Ravikant Dwivedi (Joint Commissioner). Jagdish Sagar, a kingpin has already got 140 candidates clear the exams in fraudulent ways. Other major racket leaders have helped over 600 students. The estimate charge per student was Rs.2500000
          The scam had already resulted in nearly 1000 admissions in various government jobs before it came to light in 2013.
     Whistleblowers- Some major whistle blowers in the scam are Dr.Anand Rai, Ashish Chaturvedi ( Social Activist), Prashant Pandey(IT Consultant).
          These whistleblowers have received various threat calls and also some contract killers were hired to kill them. 
     Deaths in the Scam-
          About 25 people related to the scam are dead or killed and are found in  mysterious circumstances according to the police. However, TOI has put this number to 46. 
          Such scams are executed only due to negligent or ignorant government, fraudulent and corrupt officials and ignorant people. This scam resulted in admission  of candidates which don't deserve to and also to candidates who are less eligible. Candidates who deserve and are eligible are not provided seats because they are economically weaker or not ready to bribe for a seat. Youth talent remains unrecognized and is underutilized.