MPPEB scam: Another key accused found dead, brother seeks probe

A key accused in the multi-layered Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) was found dead under mysterious circumstances at a lodge in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district, police said on Friday.

The body of Vijay Singh, a resident of Rewa in Madhya Pradesh and posted as pharmacist at Shajapur District Jail, was found on April 28, they said.

He was under suspension after the Special Task Force (STF) probing the case arrested him in three cases related to multi-layered MPPEB scam. Singh was later cleared in one case.

He was released on bail in February this year and summoned by STF on April 17.

With Singh's death, the number of accused in the MPPEB scam found dead under mysterious circumstances has risen to eight, which includes Shailesh Yadav, son of MP Governor Ram Naresh Yadav.

"We found the body of Singh at a room in a lodge in Kanker. The matter is under investigation and we have to record the statement of his family members in this regard," Kanker Police Station In-charge Deenbandhu Uikey said.

However, Singh's brother has demanded a probe into the mysterious death of his brother.

"Vijay Singh's body was found at a local lodge in Kanker on April 28. No poisonous substance was found inside the room, leading to suspicion that it was a mysterious death," his brother Abhay Singh, a government school teacher, told PTI from Shankargarh situated on Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh border near Allahabad.

"Though the postmortem report mentioned that poison was found in his body, no such material or suicide note was found from his room in the lodge by police," Abhay claimed.

Seeking a fair probe into the suspicious death of his brother, he also said that he will demand a CBI inquiry into the matter.

"Last time I spoke to him on April 16 and at that time he was at Raipur station. Later, he also called his lawyer in Bhopal stating that he would be reaching in next one or two hours but he never reached there," his brother said.

"Since then his cell number remained switched off and there was no contact with him," Singh said.

The employees at the lodge told police that Vijay had checked in on April 24 and on April 27, he had asked them to wake him up in the morning as he had to catch a train for Bhopal, Abhay said.

However, On April 28, when he did not open the door in morning, the lodge employees informed police, he said.

"On April 29, we received a call from Kanker police stating that Vijay's body was found in the hotel. He was in Kanker as his wife works as a government school teacher near the town (Kanker)," Abhay said.

"His disappearance since April 16 leads to suspicion that his death was not a simple suicide as he was not that type of a person and secondly, nothing suspicious like poison or suicide note was found from his room," Singh said.

Earlier, MP Governor Ram Naresh Yadav's son Shailesh was also found dead under mysterious circumstances at his father's official residence in Lucknow.

Yadav was allotted government accommodation in his capacity as the former Chief Minister of UP.

Besides Shailesh and Vijay, six other persons, including some students, allegedly involved in the scam were earlier found dead under mysterious circumstances.