Vyapam scam mystery continues: Jabalpur College dean found dead in hotel in Delhi

New Delhi/Bhopal: Close on the heels of the mysterious death of TV journalist Akshay Singh, who was reporting on the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh, the dean of a Jabalpur medical college, said to be probing fake examinees in the Vyapam scam, was found dead at a Delhi hotel early on Sunday, adding yet another murky twist to the scandal.

The death of Dr Arun Sharma, 64, dean of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Medical College in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, came to light a day after Akshay Singh, an investigative journalist with a top Delhi-based television news channel died under mysterious circumstances soon after he had interviewed the parents of a girl found dead after her name figured in the massive admissions and recruitment scandal.

Madhya Pradesh’s Vyapam scam appears to be getting murkier by the day, with more than 40 deaths so far, including those of the accused and witnesses, prompting a frontal attack by the Opposition. The Centre said on Sunday that a “very fair inquiry” should be conducted to put to rest all doubts over the death of the TV journalist. The MP government too is writing to the High Court-constituted SIT probing the Vyapam recruitment scam to thoroughly investigate the death of Akshay Singh.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and asked him to conduct a thorough investigation into the death. During their 10-minute phone conversation, the home minister reportedly asked Mr Chouhan to order a thorough probe into the death of TV journalist Akshay Singh in MP’s Jhabua district on Saturday.

The media group for which Akshay Singh worked said in a statement: “We urge the MP government to immediately have the viscera sample sent to a recognised forensic laboratory outside the state, preferably Delhi’s AIIMS, for a thorough examination. This would assuage the family, friends and well-wishers who seek some closure.”