Cause of death of journalist covering Vyapam scam not clear, says India Today Group

New Delhi: The India Today Group on Saturday said that the cause of the death of its reporter who was probing the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh was “not clear” and hoped that doctors and law enforcement agencies are able to establish the reason behind it. [caption id=“attachment_2327468” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Image Courtesy: IBNLive[/caption] Akshay Singh, a TV news reporter based in Delhi, was suddenly taken ill and died in Jhabua district on Saturday after he had finished interviewing the parents of a girl who had been found dead near railway tracks following her naming in connection with the scam. “The cause of his sudden demise is not yet clear. We mourn the death of our valued colleague. Our thoughts and prayers are with Akshay’s family. We hope that doctors and law enforcement agencies are able to establish the cause of Akshay’s death,” the group said in a statement. It said it is saddened by the untimely death of the reporter, who had been working with Aaj Tak as a special correspondent since December, 2013. Akshay had been on an assignment in Madhya Pradesh investigating the Vyapam scam for the past four days, it added. The group said that Akshay worked with the Special Investigation Team of Aaj Tak and was an enterprising journalist who had many hard-hitting investigations to his credit. Akshay had on Saturday called on the parents of Namrata Damor, whose body had been found under mysterious circumstances near railway tracks in Ujjain district. Namrata’s father Mehtab Singh Damor said Akshay and two others visited their house this afternoon. After the interview was over, someone was sent to get some papers photocopied. As Akshay was waiting outside Damor’s house, he suddenly started frothing at the mouth. He was rushed to a civil hospital and later to a private hospital, but doctors failed to revive him. From there, he was taken to another hospital in nearby Dahod in Gujarat, where he was declared brought dead. PTI