Vyapam horror: Dean of MP college dies in Delhi
GROWING LIST Day after reporter’s mysterious death, blood trail reaches Capital
NEW DELHI/BHOPAL/JABALPUR: The dean of a medical college in Madhya Pradesh who was assisting a probe into a multi-crore professional recruitment exam scam was found dead in a Delhi hotel on Sunday, deepening suspicions about a systematic elimination of people linked to the racket.
Delhi Police said no prima facie evidence suggested foul play in the death of 64-year-old Arun Sharma but didn’t rule out suicide as Opposition parties mounted pressure on the BJP for a Supreme Court-monitored CBI probe.
Sharma, the dean of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College and Hospital in Jabalpur, died a day after a television journalist Akshay Singh passed away while interviewing family members of a student whose mutilated body was found on a railway track in 2012.
The death also comes exactly a year after the charred body of his predecessor DK Sakale,60, was found at his house in Jabalpur.
Whistleblowers said Sharma’s death was important because hundreds of students from his institution were involved in rigging professional tests conducted by the MP Professional Examination Board (PEB) that has seen over 2,000 arrests. Organised rackets employed imposters, manipulate seating arrangements and forge answer sheets as part of the, also known as the Vyapam scam from PEB’s Hindi acronym.
“Vyapam scam n all deaths so far ought to be thoroughly investigated. Guilty must be punished,” Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal tweeted as the AAP announced a nationwide protest on July 11. Prominent leaders attended Singh’s funeral on Sunday as the Congress demanded an independent probe.
Nearly 40 people linked to the scandal have died over the past few years, triggering allegations that witnesses, whistleblowers and accused were being silenced.
But CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan has ruled out a CBI probe into the deaths. The Centre also stepped in, with home minister Rajnath Singh calling up Chouhan and reportedly asking him to conduct a probe into the journalist’s death.
“Since various issues are being raised with respect to the circumstances of this death, it would be absolutely important that a very fair inquiry is held so that all doubts can be put to rest,” finance minister Arun Jaitley said. Chouhan, however, said he would write to a high courtmonitored special investigation team to probe Singh’s death and agreed to send the viscera samples to Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
Police said Sharma’s body was found dead at a hotel in southwest Delhi’s Kapashera and an almost empty bottle of alcohol was found in the room that was locked from the inside. The Indian Medical Association’s, Jabalpur unit president Sudhir Tiwari said Sharma handed over about 200 documents to a special task force regarding admissions to the medical college.