The mysterious death of two persons probing the Vyapam scam in as many days has added yet another sordid twist to the scandal and set off strident calls for a CBI inquiry.

Even before the news of the sudden death of investigative TV reporter Akshay Singh soon after he had interviewed the parents of a deceased girl accused of involvement in the scam could sink in, came the report of the death of the dean of a Jabalpur medical college.

Arun Sharma, Dean of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Medical College, Jabalpur, who was said to be probing irregularities in admissions to his college, was found dead under mysterious circumstances at a Delhi hotel.

However, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday said he would not recommend a CBI probe into scam. “My government is not above the judiciary. When the high court has refused a CBI enquiry into the matter, how can we order it?” he said.

However, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said : “Since various issues are being raised with respect to the circumstances of this death, it would be absolutely important that a very fair inquiry is held so that all doubts can be put to rest.”

Terming the death as “extremely shocking” and questioning PM Modi’s “silence” on “scams”, Congress spokesperson RPN Singh said: “It is very simple for the State government or CM of Madhya Pradesh to write a letter for a CBI inquiry and the Centre will act on it.”

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