Vyapam scam: Whistleblower suspects use of poison in deaths

Dr Anand Rai, the whistleblower in the Vyapam scam, on Sunday said that there have been repeated attempts to suppress the case, voicing his suspicion that a poison was being used to murder those associated with the affair.

"I want to ask Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan how he revealed the Vyapam scam. The only thing that he has done is to order raids at certain hotels after we revealed the scam... The reality is that there have been repeated efforts to suppress the case," Dr Rai said.

"As far as these sudden cardiac arrests of various people associated with the case are concerned, I suspect a poison was used to murder them. There should be an immediate attempt to arrange for the security of those associated with the case," he added.

Dr Rai's statement come after Akshay Singh, a journalist with the TV Today Group, died suddenly yesterday when he had gone to take an interview of the family of a slain Vyapam scam accused in Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh.

Reports say that Singh felt chest pain while he was taking the interview. He was taken to the Meghnagar hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.

Singh's post mortem report is still awaited.

Meanwhile, Chouhan assured that he will hand over the investigation of Singh's death to the SIT.