When the CBI’s sleuths start investigating the deaths of accused linked to the Vyapam scam, following orders from the Supreme Court, they will find two grieving, angry fathers waiting for them in Gwalior.
The two will say that they do not suspect any conspiracy behind the death of their sons, both medical students. But one will want to know why no one has been punished for causing his son to die on the road, and the other is eager to “divulge all details” about Vyapam.
The first is Ramkishan Shakya, a teacher at a government school, whose son died “on the spot” after being allegedly pushed from a moving state transport bus following a dispute with the staff.
Story continues below this ad
The other is Narendra Tiwari, a principal of another government school, whose son died of a heart attack caused by a cardiac ailment and a “bad lifestyle”.
The names of the sons — Arvind Shakya and Ashutosh Tiwari — figure on the Madhya Pradesh government’s list of 25 deaths of accused “related” to the admission and recruitment tests scam.
‘No one punished’
Arvind Shakya, 25
Cause of death: Accident
Arvind Shakya, a fourth-year MBBS student of Jabalpur Medical College, died on November 28, 2012, after he was allegedly pushed out of a moving bus.
Arvind’s father Ramkishan Shakya, a teacher at a government school in Kailaras Nagar, 80 km from Morena, said the family “did not know much” about his links to the Vyapam scam and did not suspect any conspiracy behind his death.
Story continues below this ad
Months before his death in Jabalpur, Gwalior police had registered a case against him, accusing him of having been a “middleman” for the PMT.
“Eyewitnesses told police that he died while jumping off the bus. There was nothing more to it. We didn’t know he was accused in the PMT scam,” Ramkishan said.
A cousin said eyewitnesses and Shakya’s friends told him that minutes before his death, the medical student and some friends had entered into a heated argument with the conductor over paying the ticket fare.
What’s really bothering him, Ramkishan said, was that no action has been taken against the staff of the state transport bus in which his son was travelling when he was killed.
Story continues below this ad
“We travelled on several occasions to Jabalpur to find out what happened in the case. The only answer we got was no one had been punished,” Ramkishan said.
Asked about the Vyapam link, Ramkishan said: “We are staying more than 100 km away from his college. He seemed to be happy about his medical course. He never told us anything about any scam.”
Apart from his parents, Arvind left behind a 20-year-old brother, who is an engineer, and a sister, who is pursuing a course in homoeopathy.
Arvind’s cousin Sunil Shakya said he had pieced together the events that led to the accident after speaking to eyewitness in the case.
“Arvind was travelling with three of his friends from college when they got into a fight with the bus conductor. And when the bus was taking a U-turn, he was pushed out and died on the spot,” Sunil said.
Story continues below this ad
However, police records show that Arvind was killed while he was getting into the “crowded bus”.
Police have accused the driver of culpable homicide not amounting to death and filed a chargesheet – the case is being heard in court.
‘Heavy drinking, smoking’
Ashutosh Tiwari, 26
Cause of death: Heart attack
Ashutosh Tiwari, a third-year student of Gwalior’s Gajra Raja Medical College, died of a heart attack in the campus hospital on August 19, 2013.
His family and friends, at the college hostel in which he stayed, said that an existing cardiac condition, aggravated by a “bad lifestyle, including heavy drinking and smoking”, led to his death.
Story continues below this ad
Ashutosh joined the medical college in 2010 and his alleged involvement in the Vyapam scam – as a “racketeer” — came to light after his death when his family and friends came to know that cases were registered against him by police in Bhopal, Jabalpur and Rewa.
“He had a heart problem for a long time. His bad lifestyle worsened the situation and led to his death,” said Ashutosh’s father Narendra Tiwari, who is the principal of the Junior District School in Niwari, bordering Tikamgarh and Jhansi.
Asked about his son’s links to the Vyapam scam, Narendra said: “For years, the media didn’t highlight the issue. Now you knock at our doors. Digvijay Singh (Congress leader) kept warning about how innocents were killed. I will divulge all details to CBI.”
His voice rising in anger, the 55-year-old refused to elaborate on what he would tell the CBI.
Story continues below this ad
Ashutosh started drinking and smoking heavily after failing to clear a subject in his first year, claimed a resident of the hostel.
“It was after this that he got depressed. His smoking and drinking habit worsened. Sometimes he used to skip medication for his heart problem. There were several times we had to get an ECG test done for him,” he added.
According to his friends, Ashutosh complained of high blood pressure after which “he was admitted in the ICU where he died of a heart attack”.
News of Ashutosh’s alleged involvement in the Vyapam scam came as a shock, the friends said.
They added that they believe his name was “dragged in” by a batchmate involved in the scam who told police that he cleared the PMT through Ashutosh.
Apart from his parents, Ashutosh left behind a sister.
6 min read
Ashutosh Tiwari and Arvind Shakya
