Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan promises a time-bound investigation into TV Today group journalist Akshay Singh.

Updated - December 04, 2021 11:32 pm IST - BHOPAL

The mystery surrounding the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh took a new turn on Saturday after a journalist with the TV Today group fell ill and died at Meghnagar near Jhabua town soon after interviewing the parents of a girl who was an accused in the scam and had herself died in suspicious circumstances.

Akshay Singh, who worked for TV Today group, called on the parents of Namrata Damor on Saturday. The body of Namrata had been found near the railway tracks in Ujjain district in 2012. Her father, Mehtab Singh Damor, said Mr. Singh and two others visited their house on Saturday afternoon. After the interview, as Mr. Singh was waiting outside Mr. Damor’s house, he started frothing at the mouth. He was rushed to the civil hospital and later to a private hospital, but doctors failed to revive him.

Time-bound probe into journalist’s death: Chouhan

Mr. Singh was declared brought dead in a hospital in nearby Dahod in Gujarat where he was taken to from a hospital in Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh. The post-mortem examination will be conducted in Gujarat.

The TV Today group issued a statement saying it was deeply saddened by the untimely death of Mr. Singh. “We hope that doctors and law enforcement agencies are able to establish the cause of Akshay's death,” the statement said.

Later, the group conducted an interview with Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who promised a time-bound investigation into Mr. Singh’s death.

In response to a question, he said that he had no objection to a CBI inquiry into the Vyapam case if it was ordered by the courts.

Senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh, who was interviewed immediately after, said Mr Chouhan should take matters into his own hands. “If the Chief Minister is honest, he should write to the CBI himself asking it to take over the investigation. There are no constraints,” he said.

At least 25 accused/witnesses in the Vyapam scam, a massive admission and recruitment racket involving several bureaucrats and politicians, have died in “unnatural” circumstances so far. The case is currently being investigated by the State police’s special task force.

Vyapam scam

» The Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh dates back to 2007, with investigations in the case starting after some details came to light in 2013.
» It has been alleged by the Congress as well as several social activists that the officials took money to compromise the examination and recruitment.
» It is also known as the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) scam.
»Editorial:>The Vyapam scam trail
» Congress leaders openly accused MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his wife of being involved in the scam. Later, they submitted the "original evidence".
» Earlier this year, Chief Minister Chouhan claimed in a >letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi that the developments regarding the Vyapam scam provided proof of his honesty as he was the one who ordered a probe into it.
»> Here are five things you need to know about Vyapam Scam.

>
College dean found dead
Dr. Arun Sharma, the dean of a Jabalpur-based medical college was found dead.
>
Journalist dies
A journalist died soon after interviewing the parents of a girl who was accused in the scam and had died in suspicious circumstances.
>
The Madhya Pradesh govt. rejected a demand for CBI probe.
>
Another Vyapam scam accused dies in MP
Narendra Singh Tomar died under mysterious circumstances in an Indore jail.
>
FIR against M.P. Governor quashed
High Court held that he enjoyed immunity while in office.
>
Governor's son found dead
Shailesh Yadav, one of the accused in the scam, was found dead under mysterious circumstances.
>
Madhya Pradesh Governor Ram Naresh Yadav's involvement
The Special Task Force probed the alleged involvement of Governor Ram Naresh Yadav.