'So many below 40 cannot suddenly die of heart attacks': Experts question many deaths in Vyapam scam

• · 5 July, 2015: Dr Arun Sharma, Dean of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Medical College, Jabalpur, died in a hotel in New Delhi. He was assisting the SIT probe related to the Vyapam scam.
• · 4 July, 2015: Akshay Singh, a TV journalist, working on an investigative story on the scam, died on-duty in Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh.

The real cause of the two back-to-back deaths in the Vyapam  scam is yet to be ascertained. However, it has been claimed that the deaths were ‘normal’ and there was ‘no foul play’. In the case of 38-year old Singh, the medical officer of Dahod Civil Hospital claimed that the postmortem showed no foul play and no external wounds were found on the body. “To determine the reason behind the death we have sent viscera for histopathology and forensic analysis. After reports come in, we’ll be able to give the reason behind his death.” The case was similar with Dr Sharma. The police didn’t find signs of any external injury and the hotel room was locked from inside, which was normal. [caption id=“attachment_2328806” align=“alignleft” width=“380” class=" “]  Journalist Akshay Singh and Dean of a college in Jabalpur Arun Sharma. Image courtesy: DD News[/caption] Speculations are rife that ultimately both the deaths would be passed off as ‘natural’ and the results of ‘heart attacks’, like in the many previous deaths of individuals associated with the Vyapam scam. Till now, more than 40 people related to the high-profile, multi-crore Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh, who were either accused or witness or in some way linked to the probe, have died. Of these, 26 deaths appear to have taken place under mysterious circumstances. In some cases, where the death had been termed as ‘natural’, the cause had been mentioned as ‘heart attack’. Take the case of Narendra Singh Tomar (29), an assistant veterinary officer at Raisen (MP) and an accused in the pre-medical test scam conducted by MPPEB in 2009, who died on 28 June in Indore district jail. The police claimed he died of heart attack. People who have observed deaths due to cardiac problems find the heart attack theory fishy. How could so many people, some below 40, related to the same scam suffer from cardiac arrest and die suddenly, they ask. The medical and medico-legal experts, with whom Firstpost discussed the matter, say it is fishy. “Statistically, nothing is adding up. In India, 50-60 years is the high-risk age group, followed by 40-50. It’s not that a 29-year old can’t have a heart attack or heart ailment, but it doesn’t mean that one after another person below 40, would die of heart attack in this fashion,” said cardiac specialist Dr Sandeep K Gupta. Former senior consultant and cardiologist at Safdarjung Hospital and VM Medical College, Dr B Chakraborty said, “There are several causes of heart attack– from acute myocardial infraction to high-level of stress. But, in younger people sudden death due to stress induced heart attack is not at all common. Due to severe threat or high level of unbearable stress, sometimes there are cases of cardiac arrest or cerebral haemorrhage, but again the pattern of deaths due to heart-attacks that has emerged in this scam is not normal, it’s rather suspicious.” In the Vyapam scam case, some of the ‘natural’ deaths of people below 50, had been due to ‘heart attack’. At least, the post mortem reports claimed so. Barring one, the MP government has claimed the rest of the deaths were ‘natural’. However, the experts opined that it would be immensely difficult to prove that the death had not been due to ‘heart attack’, especially after the government agencies like police or doctors conducting post-mortems claimed it was the case. Here’s why · First, one has to prove that the deceased didn’t suffer from any heart ailment and heart functioned perfectly well. · Postmortem reports could be manipulated. · Viscera of the deceased meant to be probed, could be replaced by a normal one. · Involvement of government machinery in a case, makes it very difficult to have a fair examination report. Manipulations take place at various levels and in a majority of cases, it’s ensured that the post mortem or viscera reports are in favour of the government, especially in the cases of big scams or scandals. “In the cases, where the government machinery is involved, the doctors performing post mortem or forensic analysis face tremendous pressure from the top. The ultimate post mortem report is different from the actual findings. Sometimes, the viscera are replaced by a normal one and the truth hardly gets revealed,” claimed a Madhya Pradesh-based senior forensic expert on condition of anonymity. The infamous Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) scam —locally known as ‘Vyapam’ (Madhya Pradesh Vyavsayik Pareeksha Mandal) scam is related to admission and recruitment in various professional courses and posts in MP and it was unearthed by the Indore Police in July 2013 following a whistleblower’s alert.