Vyapam: Under-fire Shivraj Singh Chouhan to request HC for CBI probe

Supreme Court has agreed to hear on July 9 the plea of Digvijay Singh seeking a CBI probe into the scam

Under relentless opposition attack, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today said he will recommend to the high court a CBI probe into the Vyapam scam, a day after the Centre and BJP disfavoured handing it over to the central agency without a court directive.

The announcement by the beleagured Chief Minister at a hurriedly called press conference came two days before the Supreme Court hears a clutch of petitions seeking a CBI inquiry into the scam monitored by the apex court.

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"Loktantra lok lajja se chalta hai (public perception is important in democracy). Honouring public sentiments, I will request the high court for a CBI probe," Chouhan said, adding "the functioning of the government should be beyond any doubt."

"I have full respect for both High Court and the Supreme Court and have total faith in the ongoing probe into the Vyapam scam," he said.

In a related development, the Supreme Court today agreed to hear on July 9 the plea of Congress leader Digvijay Singh and three whistleblowers seeking an apex court-monitored CBI probe into the scam.

Singh and whistleblowers -- Ashish Chaturvedi, Anand Rai and Prashant Pandey -- have also moved the apex court seeking a CBI probe under its supervision.

Chouhan was under mounting pressure from opposition parties, particularly the Congress to order a CBI probe following the death of Arun Sharma, the dean of a Jabalpur medical college probing the scandal on Sunday in Delhi, a day after Akshay Singh, a journalist of the TV Today group on the Vyapam scam trail, mysteriously died minutes after he had interviewed the parents of a deceased girl accused.

At least five people associated with Vyapam, including Sharma and Singh, have died under mysterious circumstances in the last one week.

The opposition has claimed nearly 45 people linked to the scandal in some manner have died so far though the official figures put the "unnatural deaths" at 25.