Vyapam scam: Rajnath speaks to Shivraj over journo's death

Home Minister asks MP CM to conduct a thorough probe into Akshay Singh's death and ensure security of all people connected with the case

Concerned over the death of a TV journalist covering the Vyapam scam, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and asked him to conduct a thorough investigation into the death.

During their 10-minute telephonic conversation, Singh asked Chouhan to order a thorough investigation into the death of TV journalist Akshay Singh in Madhya Pradesh's Jhabua district.

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Official sources said the Chief Minister briefed the Home Minister about the incident and the steps being taken to know the details on the circumstances leading to the death of the journalist.

The Home Minister also asked the Chief Minister to ensure the security of all people connected with the case.

TV journalist Singh died soon after having interviewed the parents of Namrata Damor, an accused in the scam, whose body had been found under near railway tracks in Ujjain district on January 7, 2012.

38-year-old Singh, who started frothing at the mouth, was rushed to civil hospital and later to a private facility, but doctors failed to revive him. He was then taken to another hospital in nearby Dahod in Gujarat, where he was declared brought dead.

Within hours after Singh's death, Arun Sharma, Dean of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Medical College, Jabalpur, who was said to be probing irregularities in admissions to his college in connection with the scam, was found dead under mysterious circumstances at a Delhi hotel this morning.

At least 25 accused and witnesses have died so far in the Vyapam scam, a massive admission and recruitment racket involving several bureaucrats and politicians.