Dr. Anand Rai’s friends call him a whistleblower and his story deserves the title. You are surely going to raise your respect for this brave man after reading his story.
Name: Dr. Anand Rai
Profession: Ophthalmologist
Place of Birth: Mahendragaon, Harda (M.P.), India
Introducing Dr. Anand Rai, a courageous and relentless individual who played a pivotal role in uncovering the Vyapam and medical scams, ultimately safeguarding numerous lives. Dr. Rai’s unwavering determination and commitment to justice have made him a true hero in the fight against corruption and malpractice.
Dr. Anand Rai, a renowned whistleblower and activist, hails from a small town in Madhya Pradesh, India. With a deep-rooted passion for serving the community and a strong sense of integrity, he embarked on a mission to expose the rampant corruption and irregularities plaguing the medical education system.
In 2013, Dr. Rai stumbled upon a massive scandal known as the Vyapam scam, which involved the manipulation of entrance exams for medical colleges and government jobs. Realizing the gravity of the situation and the potential harm it could cause to aspiring students and the healthcare system, he decided to take matters into his own hands.
Undeterred by the risks and threats that came with challenging a deeply entrenched network of influential individuals, Dr. Rai fearlessly began collecting evidence and gathering information about the scam. He meticulously documented irregularities, fake candidates, and the involvement of high-ranking officials, exposing the intricate web of corruption that had infiltrated the system.
Dr. Rai’s relentless pursuit of truth and justice did not stop at the Vyapam scam. He also uncovered various medical scams, including the illegal sale of medical seats, fake doctors, and the manipulation of medical examinations. His efforts not only exposed the wrongdoings but also shed light on the dire consequences these scams had on the lives of innocent individuals who were denied opportunities or received substandard medical care.
As news of Dr. Rai’s revelations spread, he faced immense pressure and threats from those implicated in the scams. However, his unwavering determination and commitment to the cause kept him going. He filed multiple petitions, approached the courts, and collaborated with investigative agencies to ensure that the truth prevailed.
Dr. Rai’s efforts bore fruit when the Supreme Court of India took cognizance of the Vyapam scam and ordered a thorough investigation. His relentless pursuit of justice led to the arrest and prosecution of numerous individuals involved in the scams, including high-ranking officials, politicians, and even some prominent doctors.
The impact of Dr. Anand Rai’s work cannot be overstated. By exposing these scams, he not only saved countless lives but also restored faith in the medical education system. His courage and determination have inspired a new generation of activists and whistleblowers to stand up
Background of Dr. Anand Rai:
Dr. Anand Rai is an Ophthalmologist, medical officer, and a social activist. He is more popularly known for exposing the Vyapam Scam. He is responsible for several medical examinations that are conducted to select candidates for educational studies and government jobs.
Rai was born in a moderate village named, Mahendragaon, Harda district, Madhya Pradesh. His family belongs to the teaching sector. Rai has also been a member of Bharatiya Janata Party and was an active participant in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activities.
Many people and his fans also call him a Whistleblower. He was banned by the RSS as soon as he exposed the Vyapam scam. Rai has completed his medical studies from Indore. During his medical career, Rai noticed many irregularities that involved sanctioning of admissions to the children of politicians and elite businessmen, despite them not attending the lectures and exams. He has played a long battle of struggle to prove these scams happening right from the time he was a junior.
According to an inner report, one of Rai’s close friends left a suitcase at a wedding. In the eagerness to return it, he opened the bag to find the person’s updated contact information. To Rai’s shocking surprise, he found a few pre-medical test papers and admission forms along with pictures. Rai could not speak much about it being a junior. However, as soon as he finished his post-graduation, he joined the same college as a faculty member with the objective of exposing these scams.
A complaint was filed by him to the MPPEB. The committee found that 280 proxy candidates had attended the exams in context to the actual candidates. Many efforts were made later on a bigger scale to investigate these scams further and take strict actions against it. To share a fact, Rai has filed more than 1000 RTI applications that include the clinical drug trials with the Drug Controller General of India (DGCI).
Many political threats and pressures came on him, while he was involved in these investigations; however it was no looking back for Rai.
Motivational Factor:
Rai has been transferred [a] to other medical schools several times for his strict act of exposing medical scams; however, he was and is always prepared to challenge his transfer in court. It is quite evident that he has been through a lot of challenges in relation to his studies as well as life. I feel great pride to discuss Rai’s life story, as only a struggler can relate to other struggler’s challenges. Although he has accomplished well in his career, there are other challenges that have kept him busy always.
[a] http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/vyapam-scam-whistleblower-anand-rai-transferred/article7443736.eceHis followers and well-wishers have written letters to the Chief Minister of MP to revoke his and his wife’s transfer papers. One of the major problems in India is to open the mouth for justice. The moment you do that, injustice starts happening with you. I don’t like to discuss much about politics, but all I can say is Rai has saved many lives of people by exposing those fake doctors. People don’t realize that despite passing the exams, if you do not carry the skills in you, you cannot survive in your career.
Rai has saved many crucial aspects by uncovering the truth that was at great potential risk. I can’t imagine the kind of stress his family would have undergone after all those threats and pressure. Hats off to men like Dr. Anand Rai who had to go through a lot and is still going through a lot for people whom he doesn’t even know. He has performed the true oath of a doctor who pledged to save the people selflessly.
A few words by Rai in one of his interviews were;
“We do feel vindicated but it’s just the start. You ask where we get the courage. I come from a small town and I have really struggled to get where I am. I want to expose this fraud so that the system changes.”
Our salute to this real superhero and we truly wish that he accomplishes all his goals in life and continues to work selflessly for people.
Dr. Anand Rai, aged 37, exposed the illicit drug trials scandal in the city.
Dr. Anand Rai, a 37-year-old medical professional, fearlessly brought to light the shocking truth behind the illegal drug trials taking place within the city. As a result of his courageous actions, he has been granted the invaluable protection of an armed security detail to ensure his safety.
13 January 2015 :
Doctors ‘used nine-year-olds as human guinea pigs’ for a new cervical cancer vaccine… and they suffered side effects including nausea, dizziness and weight loss
- Indian children ‘were unaware’ they were part of cervical cancer drug trial
- Children given Merck’s Gardasil and Cervarix vaccines
- They were paid £10 to be injected with drug to fight cancer in west
- But court papers claim they were duped into taking part in the trial
- Children ‘suffered side-effects from weight loss to dizziness to nausea’
- Cervical cancer victim Jade Goody’s mum says: ‘This is just not right’
- Doctor at centre of ‘scandal’ says participants were ‘adequately informed’
- Merck, the company behind drug has also denied any wrongdoing
Children as young as nine suffered side-effects after being used as unwitting human guinea pigs for a new multi-billion pound anti-cervical cancer drug, it has been claimed.
The new anti-cancer drug has just been approved for use in the United States and is due to be released in Britain this year.
But MailOnline has learned that several of the children used as ‘guinea pigs’ for the drug trial in India reported suffering problems including weight loss, fatigue, dizziness and menstrual problems.
Judges in India’s Supreme Court have demanded answers after children died during a controversial cervical cancer vaccine trial.
Young tribal girls received shots of pharmaceutical company Merck’s Gardasil vaccine and Cervarix, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline.
The vaccines are given to girls as young as nine in many countries – including the UK and the US – to protect against the human papilloma virus, one of the major causes of cervical cancer.
But the Indian court yesterday heard a challenge by campaigners who claim the study – funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – failed to obtain the informed consent of the children or their parents.
They say that a ‘study’ carried out for the foundation by a US organisation was in fact an illegal drugs trial.
The petitioners have also asked judges to look into the way trials were conducted into Merck’s new cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil 9.
A MailOnline investigation published earlier this month uncovered claims that children as young as nine suffered side-effects after being used as unwitting human guinea pigs for the new drug.
Gardasil 9, which is expected to be worth £1.2 billion a year in sales, has already been approved for use in the US and could be available in the UK later in the year.
At a hearing of India’s Supreme Court in Delhi yesterday judges expressed frustration that the country’s government had failed to provide answers to what had happened during the earlier trials of the original Gardasil and Cervarix.
They gave the government a month to explain what action had been taken to investigate and what efforts had been made to obtain the consent of those taking part in the trials.
They wanted to know whether there had been any follow-up or monitoring of the girls to see whether they had suffered adverse health consequences.
And the judges also ordered the government to produce an opinion on the issue of liability and compensation.
Lawyers for the campaigners who brought the case said they were pleased with the fact that, for the first time, liability and compensation for the victims had come up in court.
‘It is a very encouraging development that the judges are now discussing accountability and not just accountability but also compensation, so the tone of the hearing today was very positive for us because it’s clear from all the parties, including from government reports, that there were, at best, serious irregularities and, at worst, gross violations of fundamental human rights,’ said Kerry McBroom, one of the lawyers.
An investigation by an Indian parliamentary committee had previously concluded that the trials amounted to a serious breach of trust and medical ethics amounting to child abuse and ‘a clear cut violation of the human rights of these girl children and adolescents’.
The committee’s report said it had been established that clinical trials of the vaccines had been carried out ‘under the pretext of an observation/demonstration project’ in violation of all laws and regulations laid down by the government for such trials.
The group accused of carrying out the trial under the ‘pretext’ of carrying out an academic study – PATH – said it ‘strongly disagreed with the findings, conclusions, and tone of the released report and its disregard of the evidence and facts.’
In addition to the affidavit, MailOnline has spoken to families whose children were used as ‘guinea pigs’ for the drug.
Among them is Aman Dhawan, 16, who lives with his family in the Pancham Ki Phel slum in Indore in Madhya Pradesh state in the heart of India.
Until 2010 he was a healthy young boy with an aspiration to be be a dancer.
The invitation to receive the vaccinations had come from a neighbour. Other parents were doing it, she said, and not only were their children getting a fantastic new Western ‘cure-all’, they were getting money for going too – as much as Rs 1,000 [£10] – a large sum in a country where more than 300 million people live on less than the official poverty rate of Rs 47 a day. What was there to lose?
‘The doctor said “Don’t worry, the vaccine is very good, it will take care of all your diseases”,’ he says.
‘My mum told me this would cure me from several diseases including malaria.
‘I wasn’t afraid of the injection. But after taking the medicines I saw there were things taking place in my body.’
He began to lose weight and strength, he says.
‘Whenever I was eating I wanted less. I was losing my taste for food so that now I don’t like to eat a meal in the evening.I was unable to do the things I used to do earlier.’
He shrugs the shoulders of his slight frame.
‘I was a very good athlete. At school I won many prizes, but now when I try to run as fast as I used I feel pain in my body and my stomach aches.’
His family do not know what is wrong with him: they say they have received no follow up care after the trial and are too poor to be able to afford to pay for tests of their own.
‘I think it may be because of the injections. I can’t do the things I used to be able to do. I wanted to be a famous dancer. But I can’t be a dancer now. My body is too weak. I don’t have the strength. So now, I don’t know. Maybe I will open a shop.
The first couple of times he attended for the injections, the family was given Rs 200 [£2] ‘because they said”‘you’ve come a long way and couldn’t work today”,’ says his mother Seema. The last time he went they were given Rs 1,000 [£10].
‘Until now we didn’t realise that these drugs were being tested on our children,’ she says.
‘He was okay initially but then lately he was ill. Earlier he had a good physique but gradually he has lost his weight and he has lost his health.
‘Because of our poor and illiterate background we were taken for a ride. If we knew that they were doing this we would never have allowed our children to take these tests.’
Whether by accident or design, many of those who agreed to let their children take part in the trial were poor and illiterate.
Some, like the Dhawans, also noticed changes in their children – late periods, dizziness and weakness. They had something else in common too: they say they had no idea they were taking part in a trial of a new anti-cervical cancer vaccine.
I was a very good athlete. At school I won many prizes, but now when I try to run as fast as I used I feel pain in my body and my stomach aches.
Aman Dhawan, 16
Muskan and Akash Hansari both had the injections, but their father told researchers working for the group behind the Supreme Court case that he was led to believe that it would prevent all sicknesses and illness in general.
‘[He has] no idea as to what cervical cancer is. Doesn’t know what a uterus is let alone where it is located,’ the researchers noted in a report compiled to support the Supreme Court affidavit.
The family was, however, warned that there could be side effects like fever and stomach ache and were given a thermometer to take home and, like all the other trial participants, they were called in later for blood tests.
Muskan, 15, said she was about 11 at the time of the vaccination. She said she ‘did not understand anything about the vaccine because nothing was explained to her.’
‘Muskan took the vaccine because her father told her to and she trusted him and her father trusted the government doctor,’ the report notes.
Mazhar Ansari, 18, and sisters Sana, 17 and Aasiya, 17, were signed up after a cousin heard about the injections from Dr Jain, the man running the trial.
No details have been published on how much Dr Jain was paid to conduct the trial, but published rates for other trials in Indore suggest that an investigator might expect to be paid up to £5,000 for such a trial. Rates vary widely though.
A patient taking part in drug trials in the city of Indore, India. The trials are the subjet of a complaint to the country’s Supreme Court. He is showing the medication he was given during the trial. More than 2,800 people have died during drug tests in Indian since 2005. In October 2013 the countrys Supreme Court put drugs trials on hold, warning that Foreign companies are treating India as a heaven for clinical trials, but it is proving hell for India.”
It should not have been done. It is completely wrong,’ says their father Mohammed Umar Ansari.
The family was told that the vaccine was for cervical cancer, but Ansari said he had no idea what that was. Like the Dhawan family, they were paid for their time. Both girls say they have experienced problems with their periods, which have become late and irregular.
This echoes accounts from the US, where some girls vaccinated with the original Gardasil have reported problems with missed periods.
Shaurya Mishra’s father told the researchers the family felt ‘short changed and cheated’ by the doctors after the 14-year-old was signed up for the trials. He was told the vaccine would prevent cervical cancer but confessed he did not know what this was.
‘He felt bad that American companies try their vaccines out on Indians and then those same vaccines are given to the Americans to benefit them while the Indians are just used as guinea pigs.’
Shruti and Leena Pardeshi’s mother was also convinced that the vaccine would be good for her girls. She was warned that they could get a light fever and stomach ache, and was given a thermometer to take home.
Instead, Shruti had felt dizzy and weak and doctors had been unable to get blood from her on the blood tests. Both girls started to experience late periods.
The activists behind the court challenge include veteran women’s campaigner Kalpanna Mehta and Dr Anand Rai, a doctor who has campaigned for years against drug trials.
Mehta shuffles a sheaf of documents released by the state health department in response to a request from a member of the state assembly. This is where the list of the trial participants came from.
‘The trials are extremely faulty,’ she says.
She says her researchers have interviewed 14 of the children and their families and recorded a range of problems suffered since the vaccinations.
‘One girl had serious mood swings and depression. Another developed serious anaemia. One boy lost a lot of weight, one girl has stomach ache, four have menstrual abnormalities and one has stopped her periods.’
But many patients do not realise they have rights, she says.
‘Even when they know it is wrong they don’t want to fight. We still live in a country were they think doctors are gods. There are no risks [for the drug companies] here.’
But there are risks for the campaigners. Last year Dr Rai was given a bodyguard in response to death threats made against him because of his campaigning.
He sits in the canteen of the MY Hospital in Indore, watching his bodyguard clean a double-barrelled shotgun.
‘Some people are unhappy with me,’ he says. He says he has been threatened by other doctors and told he will not get work because of his efforts to expose the way some drug trials are run in the city.
‘They chose poor groups, weaker groups, illiterate groups, those who needed medicine at any cost. They are poor. They have to rely on these doctors, they have to rely on government hospitals because they don’t have any option.
‘International companies use Indians as guinea pigs.’
They chose poor groups, weaker groups, illiterate groups, those who needed medicine at any cost. They are poor. They have to rely on these doctors, they have to rely on government hospitals because they don’t have any option.’International companies use Indians as guinea pigs.
Whistleblower Dr Anand Rai
A detailed report prepared by Dr Rai and colleagues – upon which the affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court was based – is highly critical of the Gardasil 9 trials.
It noted side effects among children including dizziness, weakness, weight loss, mood swings, depression and suicidal tendencies.
‘Not a single family knew it was a clinical trial and were all duped into believing that this vaccine had proven to be effective in other parts of the world,’ it says.
The report does not, however, allocate blame for who was responsible for this failure.
‘These families have been duped into taking the HPV vaccine and their right to give informed consent was violated. Many of them took the vaccine in good faith and were unsuspectingly used as guinea pigs for yet another clinical trial in India.’
The man behind the trials, Dr Jain, refused to meet face to face, but issued a staunch defence of his work, claiming that the allegations about the trials were the work of ‘vested interests’ chasing compensation.
Dr Jain, a paediatrician, criticised the ‘hue and cry’ around his trials. He said his centre had World Health Organisation approval for conducting vaccine trials and that many of the children involved in the Gardasil 9 trials were middle class or the children of colleagues.
‘All the trial participants and their parents were adequately informed about the whole process of the trial and their queries if any were suitably answered at the time of signing the consent form,’ he said in a written response.
It is not the first time he has had to issue a denial over his drug trial work. An earlier report by the State Bureau of Investigation of Economic Offences criticised him after 18 people suffered serious adverse events during drug trials he conducted. The report notes that he received several large payments for the trials, including Rs 2 million (£20,000) for a World Health Organisation sponsored trial on 400 children. Dr Jain said that none of the adverse events were related to the trials.
Previously India’s National Commission for Protection of Child Rights also registered a case against Dr Jain following a complaint by the parents of an 11-year-old girl, who claimed she had been the subject of a vaccine trial without their consent and which had led to serious side effects.
In 2012, Dr Jain was the subject of an undercover television investigation by India’s Headlines Today station, which filmed him talking about the profit margins from drug trials.He was shown explaining that there was an 18-20 per cent margin.
The news channel accused him of signing up patients to trials without informing them that they were participating. He denied any wrongdoing.
In a statement Merck – which trades in India as MSD Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd – said: ‘Merck conducts clinical trials worldwide to evaluate the safety and efficacy of its therapeutic candidates. These trials are fundamental to the development of innovative medicines and vaccines that help treat or prevent illness in humans.
‘It is Merck policy that all investigational studies in human subjects must be conducted in a manner consistent with laws, regulations and guidelines for the protection of human subjects, including International Conference on Harmonization-Good Clinical Practices (ICH-GCP) standards.
‘Individual country regulations and guidelines are an important source of specific requirements for the conduct of medical research.’
A spokeswoman for Merck argued that while the additional affidavit on the Gardasil 9 trials had been submitted to the Supreme Court, it was not included in a subsequent list of issues the judges were considering.
The campaigners say that it was submitted and remains part of the case launched two years ago by Mehta and her colleagues.
The court’s record of proceedings from last August shows that the judges are primarily concerned about whether those taking part in the original trials of Gardasil and GSK’s anti-cervical cancer drug Cervarix gave their informed consent and whether they had been the subject of clinical experimentation. They cited at length the report of a hugely-critical government report into the original trials.
In court a bench of judges headed by Justice Dipak Misra criticised the Indian government for failing to act on the committee’s report.
‘It should be the concern of [the government] that health of people is preserved,’ they said.
‘Don’t leave the matter to court. It is for the government to find out a way.
‘If parliamentary committee has done something then it is obligatory for the executive government to take action on this report.
‘File affidavit stating protocol to be followed by getting consent of people to undergo trial and the process to find out what is the effect of vaccination and whose liability is it to pay compensation.’
Merck and GSK have both been ordered to respond to the allegations made by campaigners.
Yesterday’s hearing was told that Merck had provided a six volume document amounting to around 2,000 pages of evidence – but that GSK had so far failed to respond.
Both companies have denied any wrongdoing. In court yesterday the judges also heard from lawyers for PATH – the US-based group that organised the ‘study’ – which emphasised the vaccines were safe and the vaccinations had been carried out in the interests of public health.
McBroom said she and her team would be referring to the latest trials of Gardasil 9 in their closing submissions.
MailOnline’s investigation into Gardasil 9 revealed how several children used in those trials claimed to have suffered problems including weight loss, fatigue, dizziness and menstrual problems.
They and their parents maintained that they did not give their informed consent and that that they were not aware that they were taking part in the trial of an untested drug.
Among those who took part was 16-year-old Aman Dhawan, who lives in the Pancham Ki Phel slum in the city of Indore.
His family say they were told the drug was a new medicine that would prevent a range of diseases, including malaria.
But Aman said that after he was given the vaccine he began to see changes in his body and he lost weight and strength.
But as the Indian test subjects discovered – and Merck’s own published research confirms – some recipients of the vaccine do suffer side effects, known as systemic adverse reactions.
The most frequently reported side effects were headache, pyrexia [fever], nausea, dizziness and fatigue.
In one trial more than 1,000 out of 7,071 subjects reported suffering headaches, with more than 200 reporting dizziness up to 15 days after the vaccination.
According to Merck, 305 people reported ‘serious adverse events’ and 321 reported new medical conditions ‘potentially indicative of systemic autoimmune disorders’.
Its own report warns that the similarities between the new drug and its predecessor mean that when Gardasil 9 becomes more widely available, some users may also suffer problems reported during the use of Gardasil – including deep vein thrombosis, immune system disorders, gastrointestinal disorders and nervous system disorders such as Guillain-Barré syndrome – known as locked-in syndrome – and motor neuron disease.
Claims of such side effects have made the original Gardasil the subject of some controversy in the US, where some campaigners have questioned its safety.
Source: Dailymail, Viral Indian Diary, Youtube, Newsd-Image, Amazon-Image
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