However, on Tuesday, bowing to public pressure, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had recommended a CBI probe into the snowballing examination scandal that has bruised his government’s credibility with people connected to the case dying mysteriously. Jabalpur/New Delhi The onus for ordering a CBI probe into the Vyapam scam now rests with the Supreme Court after the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Wednesday deferred hearing on the state government’s plea for an inquiry by the central agency.
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But he said the events of the past few days and the allegations made against him and his government by the Congress had led to questions in the minds of the people in the state and around the country, which needed to be addressed. “We still remain firm on our demand for a Supreme Court-monitored probe”, Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia said.
The CM said he would request for CBI probe if the matter comes for hearing in the Supreme Court.
The Congress today pitched for two separate CBI inquiries into the scam monitored by the Supreme Court – one into the massive scandal itself and another in the mysterious deaths and murders.
A bench of the Apex Court comprising of Chief Justice H L Dattu and Justices Arun Kumar Mishra and Amitava Roy said that it will hear the petition about the Vyapam scam relating to the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) along with other pleas on the issue on July 9. “Ahead of the monsoon session, the party does not want to empower the opposition”, said an insider.
A female trainee police sub-inspector, selected through Vyapam, was found dead in a lake in Sagar in Madhya Pradesh yeserday and a police constable, who was reportedly questioned by investigators in the case some time ago, was found dead in the state today, deepening suspicions.
Congress spokesperson Shobha Oza said that not only the Vyapam scandal but all deaths of people associated with the issue in any manner should also be probed by CBI.
This particular scam in Madhya Pradesh further got complicated on Monday with the third death of a Journalist. “Anyone can go through that mental trauma, especially if they are innocent”, the minister said. This was in 2011, four years after the recruitments that constitute the major part of the Vyapam scam took place, and two years after the first hints of the fraud started emerging. There were reports that the Central leadership of BJP including party president Amit Shah believed that the order of CBI probe would give opportunity to the party for fighting back. That the High Court and Supreme Court did not grant this relief to a petitioner in a PIL does not mean that the judiciary is against an investigation under CBI. The High Court, with famous lawyer and BJP member Ram Jethmalani arguing the case for the Governor, finally ruled that he enjoyed constitutional immunity, and hence could not be included in the FIR. I have full respect for the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
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Indian Youth Congress workers scuffle with police as they protest in Bhopal, India (EPA) The latest deaths include a young national television journalist covering the case, who began foaming at the mouth and collapsed during an interview with the family of a girl who herself died after being accused of cheating in exams.
