Bhopal: Under fire after over 40 deaths in the high-profile Vyapam scam, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday said that he did nothing wrong by ordering a probe into it. Defending his government for not initiating a probe by the Central Bureau Investigation, Chouhan said the High Court ruled against a probe by the agency.
"It was my decision to initiate probe into all aspects of Vyapam scam and I did nothing wrong by ordering the probe. No case has been investigated as deep as this one. Each death will be investigated," Chouhan said.
The Congress has been demanding a CBI probe into the multi-crore scam, which has been refused by the government. Chouhan said, "The High Court struck down the Congress's demand for CBI probe and is monitoring the case itself."
In another dark chapter in the scam, an investigative journalist working for a leading Delhi-based news channel died under mysterious circumstances soon after he interviewed the parents of a girl who was found dead after her name figured in the massive admission and recruitment scandal.
Chouhan condemned the death of the journalist saying, "It's a very sad and unfortunate incident. My condolences are with the family. Final post mortem report is awaited and truth will be out soon."
The incident took place in Meghnagar near Jhabua town. The reporter, Akshay Singh, employed with the India Today Group, had on Saturday called on the parents of Namrata Damor, whose body had been found under mysterious circumstances near railway tracks in Ujjain district.
Namrata's father Mehtab Singh Damor said Akshay and two others visited their house on Saturday afternoon. After the interview was over, someone was sent to get some papers photocopied.
As Akshay was waiting outside Damor's house, suddenly he started frothing at the mouth. He was rushed to civil hospital and later to a private hospital, but doctors failed to revive him. From there he was taken to another hospital in nearby Dahod in Gujarat, where he was declared brought dead.
The Vyapam scam has become a major political controversy with numerous witnesses and accused dying under mysterious circumstances. The Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) scam relates to irregularities in admission in state-run medical colleges and recruitment in government jobs.
Alleged financial and administrative irregularities, including unauthorised disposal of application forms, worth crores of rupees by the MPPEB have been pointed out in an audit report.
The MPPEB conducts entrance and recruitment tests for admission in medical and engineering courses, and selection in certain government services, among others.
It has been alleged that corrupt officials at the board took money to compromise the examination and recruitment for several professional courses. These courses include pre-engineering, pre-medical, MCA, teaching etc.
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