Union Minister for water resources, Uma Bharti, said on Monday night that she was very “scared” by the ever rising of mysterious deaths related to the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh adding that people were in a state of panic due to these deaths.
She told an English news channel, “There is panic in Madhya Pradesh due to the deaths. I am scared for the lives of people connected to me. I am a minister but still I am scared. I will convey my fears to CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan.”
The former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh also added that she was the first person to have suggested a CBI probe into the scandal.
Uma Bharti added, “I was named in the FIR as per an accused’s version. This is unfair. I am shocked that my name has been dragged into this. I was the first to suggest a CBI probe.”
The news agency PTI quoted her as saying, “It is a very deep conspiracy. The biggest example of the deep conspiracy is that my name is in it. Because I am no way having to do anything with this. If I am there, then something very seriously is being conspired.”
Opposition parties claim that the Vyapam scam has claimed 47 deaths since it broke out two years back. More recently, journalist Akshay Singh, who was on a reporting assignment on Vyapam in MP, was found dead in mysterious circumstances. His death was followed by Dr Arun Sharma, the dean of Jabalpur’s NS Medical College and Anamika Kushwaha, a trainee sub-inspector in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh on Monday.
The Vyapam Scam involved the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board, which holds exams for positions like medical officers, constables, teachers and auditors for government departments. The candidates allegedly bribed government officials to ensure that they made it to the list of those who cleared the test.
With this death, the number of people found dead related to Vyapam scam has gone up to 47. Only yesterday, an Aajtak journalist Akshay Singh, who had gone to MP to investigate Vyapam, was found dead.