By YKA Staff:
The death toll of people linked to the Vyapam scam continues to increase with the mysterious death of India Today journalist Akshay Singh on 3rd July and the death of Dr. Arun Sharma, Dean of a medical college in Jabalpur this morning. Ironically, Singh had gone to Mehgnagar near Jhabua to interview the family of a girl who had also died mysteriously, when he suddenly started frothing from the mouth and was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. Similarly, Sharma was helping the SIT by providing them with relevant documents, before his sudden death. The police is already claiming that there are no signs of an unnatural death as far as Singh’s death is concerned, but there are allegations of poisoning which have surfaced. The number of people who have died due to their alleged involvement in the case has reportedly crossed 40. Despite mounting pressure from the Congress and the AAP, the BJP government has not yet ordered a CBI probe into the issue.
The mounting death toll and the refusal of the state government to order a CBI enquiry into the scam do not inspire faith or confidence in the present investigation. In many cases which have the possibility of implicating people in the higher echelons of power, it is often the few witnesses and others involved who become the primary targets in the effort to derail the investigation. The need of the hour is not only for an independent investigative probe from an agency outside the state, but also a vigorous witness protection program to ensure justice.
For details of the scam, please read this report by Abhishek Jha.