Congress demands CBI probe, moves SC on Vyapam scam

Demanding a CBI probe into the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress on Tuesday said a public interest litigation had been filed in the Supreme Court in the matter.

The party said it had no faith in the Special Investigating Team (SIT) appointed by the Madhya Pradesh high court to investigate the matter.

Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh told media persons here that he had filed a PIL in the Supreme Court, urging it to take note of the scam as the SIT was not successful.

A massive admission and recruitment racket, the scam in the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) -- better known as the Madhya Pradesh Vyavsayik Pareeksha Mandal (Vyapam) -- involves politicians, senior officials and businessmen.

More than 40 people associated with the scam have died since 2013. The most high-profile death was of Shailesh Yadav, son of Madhya Pradesh Governor Ram Naresh Yadav. Shailesh (50) was found dead at his father's residence in the Mall Avenue area of Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow on March 25, 2015.

"We will move the Supreme Court and request that they set up a monitoring committee in the case," Digvijay Singh said.

"Not only Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, but his entire office is involved in the scam. We have also given a phone number to the SIT that belongs to chief minister's wife Sadhna Singh," he said.

He said the Madhya Pradesh police neither had the staff nor the competence to probe such a huge scam. "There is a huge nexus operating," the Congress leader said.

Digvijay Singh claimed that Madhya Pradesh was a common link to all the admission scams unearthed in the recent past in the country.

"The chief minister of Madhya Pradesh has himself admitted that 1,000 fake admissions have taken place. Despite this, no action has been taken," he added.