#VyapamScam: Why I came back alive and Akshay Singh couldn't

I went to Madhya Pradesh on the Vyapam scam trail. Akshay Singh was on the same story in an adjoining district. The only difference is, I returned. When Akshay suffered a massive heart attack in Jhabua, I had barely crossed into Rajasthan through Chambal. Like all other Vyapam deaths, there is no explanation. The post-mortem is clean. We will have to wait for further investigation for the truth.

What we have right now are a few holes in the investigation theory of the special task force (STF), which is investigating the Vyapam scam under the watch of the SIT. The MP High Court is monitoring the probe and periodical status reports are filed with the court, updating it.

However, the investigation done by the state police found nothing suspicious.

So, we decided to visit the families who had not raised a question, as per the investigation team's report. When I reached the house of the 24th Vyapam victim, Narendra Singh Tomar, it was the fifth day since he had passed away. Almost the entire neighbourhood had descended around his small house for condolences.

Tomar had supposedly suffered a heart attack at the jail hospital in Indore. "When I called them, they said he is having acute stomach ache. By the time my younger brother reached there, he was told Narendra died of heart attack, much before my phone conversation!" his sister, who last spoke to her on phone, said.

"Tomar was a very strong boy. He never had a health problem. I think they must have killed him in the jail," chipped in a neighbour, whose house was being used for the shanti path.

Tomar's mother, who had not spoken to anyone since he passed away, came running to meet us. She had not eaten anything for the last five days, nor had stopped crying. But she wanted to talk. The farmer's family had sold off all its land to educate its second son, the brightest of all. Not a single word came out of her mouth. Just tears. Just helplessness.

From Morena, we drove to Gwalior. To the house of Dr Rajendra Arya. He died on the same day as Tomar. The medical report said - liver failure. The family does not question it. But his brother definitely questioned the circumstances in which he got the disease. "He used to be hale and hearty. But he developed this complication after he was implicated in this case. It's strange. Perhaps, only the media can help us," pleaded his brother. As we moved from the victims' house to the police station, almost everyone had a conspiracy theory, off camera though. The STF officer I was supposed to interview did not turn up saying some urgent work had come up.

I decided to stay the night in Gwalior, as it was late. My local stringer said he had been getting queries from "local men" about what story I was attempting. He told them he was unaware (which he mainly was).

After wrapping up, the next morning I drove back to Delhi. Alive, by chance.