Madhya Pradesh Governor’s son, accused in multi-crore exam scam, found dead in Lucknow

Lucknow: Madhya Pradesh Governor Ram Naresh Yadav's son Shailesh, who was named as an accused in the multi-crore exam scam, was found dead under mysterious circumstances at his father's official residence on Wednesday. Police said the exact cause of his death could not be ascertained immediately.

"He was under stress after his name figured in the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board or Vyapam scam. This might be the reason behind his death as far as we think," said a family friend and Congress leader Satyadeo Tripathi, who visited Yadav's residence here.

Police, however, remained tight lipped over the entire issue.

"We have got information that Shailesh Yadav, aged about 50, died at the official residence of MP Governor Ram Naresh Yadav at Mall Avenue locality here," Gautampalli Police Station in-charge, Virendra Bahadur Singh said.

Shailesh's name had cropped up in the multi-crore scam for allegedly fixing the recruitment of 10 candidates as Grade III teachers.

The Governor, who himself has been named as an accused in the scam, has been admitted to a hospital in Bhopal following respiratory problems.

Yadav, a former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, has also challenged in the High Court the inclusion of his name as an accused and had sought immunity.

Police said a postmortem examination will be conducted to find the reason for the death of Shailesh. "We are sending his body for postmortem," Circle Officer, Hazratganj, Ashok Kumar Verma told reporters.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav visited Ram Naresh Yadav's residence to pay his condolences.

Earlier, an accused in the scam had alleged that Shailesh took money to help candidates.

In his statement to the Special Task Force (STF) probing the Professional Examination Board (PEB) scam, Veerpal Yadav had alleged that he handed over a list of 10 candidates and Rs 3 lakh to his friend Vijay Pal, who gave the money and names allegedly to the Governor's son Shailesh Yadav at Raj Bhawan.

The scam involves massive irregularities and corruption in the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) or MP Vyavsayik Pareeksha Mandal.