Dean of College Linked to Vyapam Scam Found Dead in Delhi

The 64-year-old dean of a medical college in Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh was found dead this morning at a hotel in Delhi, where he had arrived yesterday. He was supposed to head for  Agartala from Delhi as part of an inspection team of Medical Council of India.

The college Dr Arun Sharma headed was linked to the Vyapam scam, which is hinged on top politicians and bureaucrats of Madhya Pradesh allegedly accepting kickbacks in exchange for allowing imposters to take the recruitment exam for government jobs and admission to colleges.

Dr Sharma was assisting the Special Task Force that is probing the scam, providing documents on fake medical entrance examinees in the state-run medical college he headed.

"He has given over 200 pages of information to the STF about Vyapam... I have got to know this from someone... I won't make the name public since everyone's life is in danger," said Sudheer Tiwari, the president of the local unit of the Indian Medical Association.

Dr Sharma had taken over as dean of the NS Medical College only two months ago. The earlier dean, Dr DK Sakalle was found burnt to death at his home exactly a year ago.

Police sources said whiskey and some medicines were found near Dr Sharma's bed. But Dipendra Pathak, the Joint Commissioner of Police, said they were yet to find any evidence of foul play. "We are waiting for the post mortem," he said, which will be conducted after Dr Sharma's son arrives in the capital.

At least 33 people who were either witnesses or accused in the scam have died over the last five years, leading to a demand for a CBI inquiry by the opposition. A journalist who worked for the India Today Group and was reporting on the scam, died yesterday.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, ruling out a probe by the CBI into the Vyapam scam and related deaths, today said the High Court is already monitoring the probe and the state government has no role in it.