Vyapam scam: Two STF officers probing MPPEB scam receive threats

BHOPAL: Two senior officers of the Special Task Force (STF) investigating the high-profile MPPEB scam have claimed to have received threats allegedly from some influential people involved in the racket.

"Yes they (STF top officers) had made a representation to me regarding some threatening calls to them like "hum dekh lenge" (will see you)...I have forwarded their grievances to the Madhya Pradesh High Court which is monitoring the probe into the scam, Special Investigation Team (SIT) chief, Justice (Retd) Chandresh Bhushan told PTI when asked about the issue.

In their representation to the SIT chief, the state STF's Assistant Inspector General of Police Ashish Khare and Deputy Superintendent of Police D S Baghel, who are the key investigators in the scam, have sought protection, stating that they are being hounded by influential persons whom they are prosecuting, sources close to the officials said.

"We conveyed our grievances to the SIT about a fortnight back. The SIT will take a call on it," Khare said, without divulging any details of their grievances.

According to sources, the two officers have filed more than 15 chargesheets in the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) scam, also known as Vyapam scam.

Their plea to the SIT chief assumes significance in the wake of deaths of 25 accused and witness in the scam.

The Vyapam scam, that came to light in 2013, is a massive admission and recruitment scandal involving politicians, bureaucrats and middlemen. Several politicians, including former Education Minister Laxmikant Sharma, a host of officials and scores of aspirants have been arrested in the case.

Last week, the SIT probing the scandal had submitted to the MP High Court that 23 deceased in the MPPEB scam had died unnatural deaths so far. Some reports have claimed 40 such deaths.

The most high-profile death was that of Shailesh Yadav, son of Madhya Pradesh Governor Ram Naresh Yadav. Shailesh, 50, was found dead at his father's residence in Mall Avenue area in Lucknow on March 25 this year.

Ram Naresh Yadav, also a former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, was himself made an accused in the MPPEB scam before getting relief from the court.