Madhya Pradesh police are denying that the recent death of 40-year-old police constable Ramakant Panda, who was found hanging from a ceiling fan at a residence in Orchha, is linked to the deadly Vyapam scam that has claimed 47 lives in a chilling mystery.
However, unconfirmed reports say Panda was questioned by a Special Task Force in the scam, which has rocked the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in the state.
Local police though said that Panda was fighting alcoholism and was under a huge debt. They said he is suspected to have committed suicide.
“All deaths should not be linked to Vyapam,” said Chouhan yesterday, who has so far failed to meet opposition demands to recommend a CBI inquiry in the case, saying the High Court was investigating the matter and that it was competent enough to do so.
In what looked like yet another suspected murder in Vyapam scam, a young trainee sub-inspector Anamika Kushwaha was found dead in a lake on Monday morning.
Kushwaha’s death followed the mysterious deaths of the dean of Jabalpur’s NS Medical College and Aajtak’s journalist Akshay Singh.
Akshay, who was in MP on a Vyapam related reporting assignment, was found dead in mysterious circumstances on Saturday, while Dr Arun Sharma died in a Delhi’s hotel in equally suspicious manner on Sunday.
With that, the number of people found dead related to Vyapam scam had gone up to 47.
The Vyapam scam is a huge admission and recruitment scandal involving politicians, bureaucrats and middlemen. Several politicians, including former state Education Minister Laxmikant Sharma, a host of officials and aspirants have been arrested in the case.
The 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.
