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Vyapam Scam Deaths: Constable To Testify In Court Yesterday Also Reported Dead

Constable Who Was To Testify In Court Yesterday Against Vyapam Accused Died Two Months Ago
Indian Chief Minister of the state of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chauhan talks to media outside the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi on July 8, 2015. The embattled chief minister of India's Madhya Pradesh state July 7, 2015 asked federal investigators to carry out an independent probe into a jobs scandal after a spate of deaths which opponents have linked to the scam. Nearly 2,000 people have been arrested since 2013 over the so-called Vyapam scandal in which thousands of people are alleged to have paid bribes in return for jobs on the state payroll or for places in educational institutes. AFP PHOTO / STR (Photo credit should read STRDEL/AFP/Getty Images)
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Indian Chief Minister of the state of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chauhan talks to media outside the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi on July 8, 2015. The embattled chief minister of India's Madhya Pradesh state July 7, 2015 asked federal investigators to carry out an independent probe into a jobs scandal after a spate of deaths which opponents have linked to the scam. Nearly 2,000 people have been arrested since 2013 over the so-called Vyapam scandal in which thousands of people are alleged to have paid bribes in return for jobs on the state payroll or for places in educational institutes. AFP PHOTO / STR (Photo credit should read STRDEL/AFP/Getty Images)

An eyewitness in the Vyapam scam who was to appear in the Jabalpur High Court yesterday died two months ago. Constable Sanjay Kumar Yadav, who was expected to testify against three accused in the Vyapam scam, reportedly died of hepatitis, taking the count of deaths linked with the scam to 36, according to the special task force investigating the case.

The Madhya Pradesh police official was a resident of Uttar Pradesh. He had allegedly helped three other constables "escape" from the police academy. Justice Chandresh Bhushan, who is heading the scam investigation, told NDTV that the number of deaths that had been linked to the Vyapam scam were "abnormal". In fact, activists allege that the number of these deaths is actually over 40.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.