Supreme Court will hear plea for CBI probe into Vyapam scam, another death today

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear petitions on July 9 seeking a CBI probe into the mysterious deaths in the Vyapam scam.

“We can fix all the matters together. It will come on July 9,” a bench comprising Chief Justice H.L. Dattu and Justices Arun Kumar Mishra and Amitava Roy said.

The high-profile scam, which is becoming murkier by the day, has claimed over 45 lives. The government pegs the number at 25, with Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan emphatically stating that it is unfair to link all deaths to the scam. Earlier today, a 40-year-old constable, Ramakant Panda was found hanging from a ceiling fan at his home.

According to TV reports, the constable was questioned by the Madhya Pradesh police's special team investigating the Vyapam scam.

Read: Trainee sub-inspector dies, but still no CBI

However, police claim that Panda was an alcoholic and under heavy debt, which is why he committed suicide.

The petitions filed in this regard are of Congress leader Digvijaya Singh and whistleblowers Anand Rai and Ashish Chaturvedi.

Read: Centre too says no to CBI probe

The Congress has been demanding a probe into the case, saying that it does not have any ‘faith’ in the Madhya Pradesh government led by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

CM Chouhan is under tremendous scrutiny from the Opposition for the mysterious deaths and lawlessness in the state.

On Monday, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the Centre could not direct the Madhya Pradesh High Court to hand over the case to the CBI.

Read: Deadly deaths in Vyapam scam: ‘I am a minister yet I am scared,’ says Uma Bharti

Refusing for a CBI probe into the deaths, Chouhan on Monday said that all deaths should not be linked to the Vyapam scam.

His comments came after 25-year-old trainee sub-inspector Anamika Kushwaha’s body was found in a lake adjacent to the Police Training Academy at Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district headquarters on Monday.

She was recruited in the police through an exam conducted by Vyapam, a board that holds tests for recruitment to government jobs and college admissions.

While the Centre ruled out a CBI probe into the scam, as demanded by the Opposition, for the time being, the Congress continued to press for Chouhan’s immediate resignation to let an “impartial investigation” take place.

Read: What Vyapam scam is all about

The Congress alleged that Chouhan cannot “escape responsibility for 45 deaths” of people who had some connection with the case.

Meanwhile, the main whistleblower in the Vyapam case, Ashish Chaturvedi, claimed that there was a “grave threat” to his life and accused Chouhan of being “directly involved” in the scam, a charge that was rubbished by the CM.

The Opposition has, so far, linked nearly 45 deaths to the scam.

One set of Excel sheets related to the scam that have remained controversial have the names of candidates, their roll numbers, and their references — ranging from “CM”, “CM’s residence”, “Uma Bharati” and “Governor”, among others.