Narendra Singh Tomar, an accused in the high-profile MPPEB (Vyapam) scam, has died under mysterious circumstances in an Indore jail, adding another murky chapter to the scandal in which 24 accused and witnesses have died so far.
29-year-old Tomar, a veterinarian, complained of chest pain last night and was rushed to Maharaja Yashwant Rao Hospital where he was declared brought dead, official sources said on Sunday.
The Scam:
Vyapam scam was a massive admission and recruitment scam involving politicians, senior officials and businessmen. Indore Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court served notices to Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) and Medical Council of India (MCI) following a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by parents of some students after reports that more than 300 ineligible candidates managed to get into the merit list.
As per some reports, it is the mother of all scandals and the biggest one to rock Madhya Pradesh. 20 parents and students were booked and more than 129 politicians, officials and middlemen were arrested.
Whistleblowers:
Indore based Dr. Anand Rai and Gwalior based social activist Ashish Chaturvedi are the two main whistle blowers of this scam. While Dr. Anand Rai blew the lid over this scam, Ashish Chaturvedi blew the whistle over involvement of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan’s relatives in the scam. Despite a Whistle Blower’s Protection law in force, both of them face threat to their life and were denied police protection.
Mysterious Deaths:
A report submitted by special investigation team (SIT) in the High Court revealed that around 40 people, in 25-30 age group, all accused in the scam have died under mysterious circumstances. The deaths snapped the crucial linkages to kingpins, making it India’s most notorious scam where so many accused lost their lives
