CBI in Odisha to probe Vyapam-linked officer's death

A CBI team on Tuesday arrived in Odisha's Jharsuguda district to probe the mysterious death of a retired Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer, who acted as an observer in two Vyapam recruitment tests of Madhya Pradesh.

Vijaya Bahadur was found dead on a railway track near Belpahar station in the district on October 15.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials here confirmed that a team from Delhi has arrived to probe the incident.

Police suggested that Bahadur may have fallen from the moving train while he was on his way to Bhopal from Puri with his wife Nita Singh by the Puri-Jodhpur Express.

Earlier, Superintendent Railway Police (Rourkela) Karam Sey Kawar told IANS that prima facie it appears Bahadur accidentally fell.

Police said Nita Singh reported about her husband going missing to the ticket checker after reaching Raigarh station, about 70 km from Jharsuguda.

Bahadur's death is the first incident after the Supreme Court in July handed over the probe to the CBI, which is inquiring into the Vyavsayik Pariksha Mandal (Vyapam), or the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) scam and cases related to the mysterious deaths of over 40 accused or witnesses.