This Article is From Jul 09, 2015

Amid Vyapam Deaths, a Move to Relocate Nearly 20 Prisoners

Amid Vyapam Deaths, a Move to Relocate Nearly 20 Prisoners

The office of the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board, known by its Hindi acronym of Vyapam.

Indore:

Alarmed by the death of a Vyapam scam accused under suspicious conditions in the district jail a week ago, the prison authorities in Indore are considering shifting 20 inmates allegedly involved in the scandal to another prison.

On paper, the authorities cite the lack of 24-hour medical facilities in the jail, which houses 920 prisoners. The jail has only a part-time doctor, who is not generally unavailable at night.

"We will soon move a local court to shift 20 person accused in Vyapam scam from here to another jail which has a proper hospital and adequate medical staff," said district Jail Superintendent R S Bhati.

The jail authorities' anxiety stems from the recent death of a man lodged in the district jail, an accused in the Vyapam scam, which is under media scanner following a spate of deaths of accused and witnesses.

On June 27, 30-year-old vetenarian Narendra Singh Tomar had suddenly fallen ill. He had died by the time he was taken to the Maharaja Yashwantrao Hospital, reports news agency Press Trust of India.

Mr Tomar had been posted as Assistant Veterinary Officer at Raisen before being embroiled in the scam, a massive admission and recruitment racket allegedly involving top bureaucrats and politicians.

Whistle-blower Dr Anand Rai, who has welcomed the idea of the prison authorities, has alleged negligence on the part of the state government in providing timely treatment to Mr Tomar.

"There was no doctor present in the district hospital to treat Tomar," PTI quoted Mr Rai as saying. "At the Maharaja Yashwantrao Hospital, the facilities were in a bad state due to the strike of junior doctors. Had he got adequate medical treatment on time, his life could have been saved."

He said the safety of these 17 accused was necessary "to reach and arrest the big fish involved in the scam."

.