Vyapam scam: CBI finds no evidence of 'political conspiracy' or 'organized crime', says report

New Delhi: In a breather for Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is reported to have found no conclusive proof of any "political conspiracy" or existence of any "organized syndicate" behind the Vyapam scam.

The case surrounds corruption in admission and recruitment of candidates in the state by the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB), also known as Vyapam.

The CBI, which has been investigating Vyapam cases including mysterious deaths of several key suspects and witnesses, has not found any role of 'organised crime'. It has so far probed 155 cases and found 'individual' reasons behind each of them, The Times of India reported on Wednesday.

The findings have yet to be officially released by the investigation agency.

The CBI was tasked with probing the Vyapam scam in July last year. It has so far registered 155 FIRs and filed six chargesheets in connection with the scam.

The focus of the investigation has been on around 17 deaths, including murders and suicides, under mysterious circumstances.

A CBI official told the newspaper that the cases looked into so far appeared to be individual cheating and corruption cases, and that there was no evidence of any connection between them.

Only a few cases appear to have connected dots, the official added.

The probe further found that corruption was involved at only junior level and no politicians appear to have played any role, the official said further.

After the scam had come to light, Chouhan faced tremendous pressure from the opposition parties to resign as CM.

The opposition had linked the scam to Chouhan, his family members and his aides.

However, the Bharatiya Janata Party had defended Chouhan and said he had no role in the alleged irregularities.