The following is the press statement issued by the Delhi Union of Journalists on July 5.

THE DUJ is deeply grieved and shocked at the mysterious death of young Aajtak journalist Akshay Singh while investigating the Vyapam Scam in Madhya Pradesh.  His sudden death cannot be isolated from the total number of 45 deaths of witnesses, accused and others connected to this Rs 2000 crore scam.

The government of Shivraj Singh Chouhan has much to answer for. Why is it unable to stem the tide of murders and suicides realted to the scam?

We regret that the India Today group did not immediately fly Akshay’s body to Delhi so that an impartial postmortem could be conducted. The group has belatedly asked the state government to send the viscera to Delhi for forensic examination at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. DUJ supports this demand.

DUJ calls for an immediate CBI inquiry into the death of Akshay Singh.  We also demand that the India Today group provide adequate compensation for Akshay Singh’s mother and sister who depended on his earnings. We further demand that the India Today group put in public domain information on policies for risk insurance of journalists employed by it.