Vyapam scam: CBI registers three fresh cases including murder of MBBS student

New Delhi: Three fresh cases have been registered by CBI in connection with multi-crore rupee Vyapam scam including that of "murder" in the mysterious death of MBBS student Namrata Damor in 2012, taking the total number of FIRs lodged by it to eight.

While the Madhya Pradesh police had maintained that 19-year-old Damor, who was found dead on January seven, 2012, was suffering from depression and had committed suicide, two sets of doctors gave different opinions about her death raising suspicion.

The girl, who allegedly took the illegal route to gain admission in Gwalior Medical College, is believed to have been a witness to happenings in the case. A case under 302 (murder) of IPC has been registered to probe her death.

The second case relates to alleged illegalities in the Pre-Medical Test of 2010 and only one person has been named as an accused.

The third case pertains to alleged irregularities during an examination conducted by Vyapam in 2010 in which the state police had named four accused. Seven more accused were included by the Special Task Force in this case.

With this, the number of FIRs registered by CBI in connection with the massive rigging of examinations for recruitment in government jobs and admissions in educational institutions has gone up to eight.

The CBI team, which has been camping in Bhopal for the last five days, had registered five cases in connection with the alleged scam which included a case against member of Madhya Pradesh Backward Classess and Minorities Commission member and his son.

The investigating agency also launched a probe into the "mysterious" deaths of five persons associated with the scam, including a TV reporter Akshay Singh who had gone to cover stories related to the scandal involving the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB), also known by its Hindi acronym Vyapam.

Singh, a TV Today group reporter, had died on July 4 minutes after interviewing Damor''s parents. With the Supreme Court while handing over the investigation in the scam to CBI having asked it to probe the deaths of people linked to it, the agency also called for records from the Superintendents of Police of Ujjain, Kanker, Gwalior, Jhabua and DIG, Indore, of "mysterious" deaths in the case.

Congress has alleged at least 49 people associated with the scandal have so far died under "mysterious" circumstances.