Former Vyapam officer's body found on railway tracks in Odisha

A retired Indian Forest Service officer, who served as observer in some VYAPAM recruitment tests in Madhya Pradesh, where a scam on it is being probed by CBI, was found dead on the railway track near Belpahar in Odisha, Railway police said on Saturday.

Bijaya Bahadur Singh, a 1978 batch officer who was Chief Conservator of Forest in Madhya Pradesh, was travelling by Puri-Jodhpur Express and his body was found on the in the early hours of Thursday, Superintendent of Railway Police (SRP) at Rourkela, Karam S Kahanr said.

Singh's wife Nita and his daughter, who were returning to Bhopal with him, filed an FIR at Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh when he went missing, he said. By that time his body had been recovered, and both his wife returned to Jharsuguda and identified him.

"We are waiting for the post mortem report. The family members took the body back with them yesterday," the SRP said. Singh was in Odisha to take part in a batch get-together held at Puri.

He was appointed in various committees of VYAPAM (Vyavsayik Pariksha Mandal or Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board MPPEB) from 2010-13. He had served as an observer in these committees.

Supreme Court handed over the probe into Vyapam scam to CBI in July and the investigating agency is probing into the scam and cases related to the death of over 40 persons, including accused and witnesses, linked to it.