Scribe's death: Opposition seeks CBI probe; Rahul, Kejriwal attend funeral

NEW DELHI: The opposition parties on Sunday mounted pressure on Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for a CBI probe into the Vyapam scam after the deaths of a scribe on the trail of the scam and the dean of a medical college who was assisting in the probe.
Amid calls for a CBI probe into the deaths, Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh demanded that the viscera samples of the scribe should be examined by doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi.
Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Shivraj Singh Chouhan said he would write to the high court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Vyapam scam to look into the sudden death of the journalist who was working on an investigative report in the case.
Chouhan said his government has no objection if the MP high court gets the probe into the scam done by any other agency, including CBI.
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However, the chief minister's assurance did little to pacify the opposition.
Akshay Singh, a journalist with the TV Today Group, died suddenly on Saturday when he had gone to take an interview of the family of a slain Vyapam scam accused in Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh.
He was cremated at the Nigambodh Ghat in Delhi on Sunday.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Satish Upadhyay were among those present during the cremation ceremony.
In another case, Dr Arun Sharma, the dean of a medical college in Madhya Pradesh, who was assisting the Vyapam scam investigation, was on Sunday morning found dead in a Delhi hotel.
His body was found in his room at Uppal Hotel near the Indira Gandhi International airport. He was on his way to Agartala as a member of an inspection team of the Medical Council of India.
"As of now nothing foul has been noticed, the door was locked from inside," said Dipendra Pathak (Joint CP) on the mysterious death of the dean.
"We are collecting all possible scientific evidence. Cause of death will be known only after the postmortem," he added.
Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D Raja said that the BJP which governs the state must be ashamed of the latest developments on this case.
"Special Investigative Team (SIT) under the state government is probing the scam. What it can do nobody knows? There has been no honest straightforward response from Chouhan yet. It is a BJP-ruled state government and the BJP should be ashamed of what is happening in Madhya Pradesh," Raja said reacting to the developments.
"This is a very serious issue, the first case in the country where not only accused die in mysterious circumstances, but also the witnesses and also journalists who try to cover the case. In fact, the National Council of our Party which met in Chandigarh from June 30 to July 2 discussed the very similar issue. There are so many deaths in the Vyapam case. Several accused died in mysterious circumstances. So did several witnesses. Now the journalist who tried to investigate the case, he too died in mysterious circumstances," said Raja.
The Aam Aadmi Party also called for a CBI inquiry into the scam, adding that the latest death in connection with the case, that of journalist Akshay Singh, points to a nexus of politicians, officials and dalals involved in the affair.
"It is becoming very clear that politicians, officials and dalals are involved in the Vyapam scam. Around 1,800 people have been arrested in connection with the case, the prime among which was former Madhya Pradesh education minister Laxmikant Sharma and there is an FIR against the state governor," AAP leader Alok Agarwal said at a press conference here.
At least 25 accused/witnesses have died so far in Vyapam scam, a massive admission and recruitment racket involving several bureaucrats and politicians, and the opposition Congress has been demanding a CBI probe in the matter.
Some reports have claimed that 44 people associated with the scandal have died so far.
The most high-profile death was that of Shailesh Yadav, son of Madhya Pradesh Governor Ram Naresh Yadav. Shailesh, 50, was found dead at his father's residence in Mall Avenue area of Lucknow on March 25, this year.
(With inputs from agencies)