Under pressure, Shivraj Singh Chouhan says ready for CBI probe in Vyapam scam

Says will also appeal to the Supreme Court too if necessary

Succumbing to pressure from various quarters, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said he was ready for a CBI investigation into the Vyapam scam.

"I bow down to public opinion and will write to the High Court and appeal them to order a CBI probe in Vyapam scam,"  he said.

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• Vyapam scam a silly issue: Sadananda Gowda
• Vyapam scam: Youth Congress protests, demands MP CM's resignation

The decision to allow the central agency to conduct an investigation comes on the heels of a police constable Ramakant Sharma's suicide in Orchha district Tuesday; the constable, who hung himself, was alleged to have been involved in the scam and had been questioned by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Madhya Pradesh Police that is probing the Vyapam scam.  However, no sucide note has been found yet. 

Chouhan has been under fire over the growing number of deaths in the Vyapam scam. At least four people, including a journalist covering the scam, have died under mysterious circumstances in the past week.

"Questions were being raised, particularly outside the state," he said, justifying his change of stance. Until now, Chouhan had resisted a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation, saying that he could not supersede the High Court decision to set up a Special Task Force to look into the scam. 

He, however, flayed main opposition Congress and said, "They had one point agenda, they were after 'Shivraj' and had nothing to do with the investigation."

Chouhan reiterated that he had full faith in STF (special task force) investigation, which is probing the scam under the supervision of the High Court. 

Chouhan said he would appeal to the Supreme Court, too, if necessary. The apex court on Monday agreed to hear a petition seeking removal of Madhya Pradesh Governor Ram Naresh Yadav for his alleged involvement in the scam. Yadav, against whom an FIR had been lodged, had claimed immunity from  prosecution by virtue of his Constitutional position as the governor of the state.

The Vyapam scam hit the headlines, once again, after Aaj Tak journalist Akshay Singh died almost immediately after interviewing the parents of a girl who was suspected of involvement in the scam and whose dead body was found on the railway tracks. 

A day later, the dean of a Jabalpur medical college who had been collaborating with the investigation was found dead in a Delhi hotel. The body of a female police academy trainee was found floating in a lake Monday, with no suicide note to be found. 

Various reports have put the number of people who had some connection to the Vyapam scam but have since died in unexplained circumstances at close to 50, raising questions about how deep the rot went. Under Vyapam, which a conducted professional entrance exams for medicine and engineering, as well as a slew of government jobs, a network of touts, bureaucrats, and politicians are alleged to have fraudently got people admitted to various jobs in return for money. Opposition parties have repeatedly called for a CBI investigation, which Chouhan had untiil now successfully resisted.