Vyapam scam accused Praveen Yadav commits suicide at his residence in MP's Morena

Praveen Yadav, one of the key accused in the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) or Vyapam scam, on Wednesday committed suicide at his residence in Madhya Pradesh’s Morena, reports said.

The scam pertains to alleged irregularities in job recruitments and admissions by the state professional Examination Board, known by its Hindi name Vyapam.

Considered one of India’s biggest corruption scandals, the Vyapam scam shot to nationwide notoriety in 2015 after a string of mysterious deaths of witnesses and suspects. Following the death of at least 48 people linked to the case, the apex court handed over the Vyapam cases to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The central agency took over the case, earlier registered at Garha police station in Jabalpur, and filed a First Information Report (FIR) on August 18, 2015, against 60 accused persons.

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Since then, the CBI has found that top state BJP leaders and ministers are co-accused in the multi-crore scam, which spans the Pre-Medical Tests (PMT) of 2008, 2009 and 2011 conducted by Vyavsayik Pariksha Mandal (Vyapam) or the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB).

(With inputs from PTI)