Troubles mounted for Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today over Vyapam scam after a woman trainee sub-inspector recruited by the state board was found dead in a lake, triggering demands from Congress for his immediate sacking and an impartial probe.
In a related development, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a petition seeking removal of Madhya Pradesh Governor Ram Naresh Yadav over his alleged involvement in the massive admission and recruitment scandal in the state.
Whistleblower Ashish Chaturvedi, 26, claimed that there was a grave threat to his life and accused Chouhan of being "directly involved" in the scam, a charge rubbished by the CM.
Adding to the string of deaths since the past two days, the body of trainee sub-inspector Anamika Sikarwar (25) was found in a lake adjacent to the Police Training Academy at Sagar district headquarters in Madhya Pradesh.
It came after the unexplained death of journalist Akshay Singh who was covering Vyapam scam in Jhabua while Jabalpur Medical College Dean Arun Sharma, probing fake examinees, was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a hotel at Dwarka in south-west Delhi.
Sagar City Superintendent of Police Gautam Solanki said they suspect Anamika's death to be a case of suicide, a claim promptly dismissed by the Congress.
She was selected as a sub-inspector in an exam conducted by Vyapam but police said that her selection has nothing to do with Vyapam scam and she was not a suspected beneficiary.
The Chief Minister quickly denied that the incident was linked to the Vyapam probe.
"It is sad and unfortunate incident. But with all responsibility I say that there is no connection of that unfortunate incident with Vyapam or its probe. And it is not fair to link all such unfortunate incidents with Vyapam," he said.
Congress, which has sought a Supreme Court-monitored CBI probe, stepped up its attack on Chouhan, demanding that he be sacked to allow an impartial investigation and said that he cannot escape responsibility for "45 deaths" of people having some connection with the issue.
"Shivraj Singh Chouhan should be sacked and an impartial probe should be done in the Vyapam scam," Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said in New Delhi.
In Bhopal, the ruling BJP Government in Madhya Pradesh accused the Congress of "playing politics over the deceased" and asserted that Sharma's death was not related to the case.
