BJP on defensive as Vyapam scam death toll mounts, says ready for CBI probe but can't side step court

New Delhi: Mired in controversies, the Bharatiya Janata Party is playing safe in the multi-crore Vyapam scam saying it is ready for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation but it will overstep court's jurisdiction.

The Madhya Pradesh government is under fire after over 40 deaths in the mysterious scam and its reluctance for a CBI probe.

BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao said, "We are ready for a CBI probe but the decision will be overstepping the court's jurisdiction. The entire probe on Vyapam is under the supervision of the court and the Chief Minister has written to the SIT ordered by the court."

The BJP also hit out at the Congress saying, "Only 15 people have died and the Congress is exaggerating it by saying that 45 people died in the case. Even one death is a matter of concern."

Rao added, "If High Court and Supreme Court wants to hand over probe to CBI, the state government is willing to follow."

Defending his government's action, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that he did nothing wrong by ordering a probe into it. "It was my decision to initiate probe into all aspects of Vyapam scam and I did nothing wrong by ordering the probe. No case has been investigated as deep as this one. Each death will be investigated," Chouhan said.

The Vyapam scam is getting murkier with each passing day and two deaths were reported in last 48 hours. On Monday, a trainee sub-inspector who was recruited through Vyapam was found in a lake in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar district.

On Saturday, TV Today journalist Akshay Singh died under mysterious circumstances soon after he interviewed the parents of a girl who was found dead after her name figured in the massive admission and recruitment scandal.

The incident took place in Meghnagar near Jhabua town.

On Sunday, Dr Arun Sharma, the dean of a medical college in Jabalpur and suspected of having links to some accused in the Vyapam scam, was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a Delhi hotel.

The Vyapam scam has become a major political controversy with numerous witnesses and accused dying under mysterious circumstances. The Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) scam relates to irregularities in admission in state-run medical colleges and recruitment in government jobs.