The International Press Institute (IPI) today urged the Indian government to conduct a full probe into Saturday’s mysterious death of a journalist investigating a high-profile scandal involving state-run tests, and to take steps to protect journalists who cover corruption.

Akshay Singh, 38, was the third journalist who had been investigating corruption to die in India in the past month, and the second to die in the north central state of Madhya Pradesh.

At the time of his death, Singh, a journalist with the special investigations team of the Aaj Tak television channel, was investigating dozens of deaths connected with the high-profile “Vyapam scam”.

Vyapam is the Hindi acronym for the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board, the organisation responsible for administering tests to applicants for government positions and education institutions in Madhya Pradesh. Thousands have been arrested in connection with the scandal, in which officials and politicians allegedly accepted bribes to help candidates score well on the tests, and more than 40 people implicated in the scam have died suspiciously.

On Saturday, Singh was in the city of Meghnagar to interview family members of Namrata Damor, who died mysteriously in 2012 after allegations that she was involved with the scam surfaced. While speaking with the family members, Singh began to foam at the mouth and fell unconscious. Two journalists accompanying Singh drove him to a hospital, where he was declared dead.

IPI Executive Board Member Narasimhan Ravi, chair of IPI’s Indian National Committee and director of The Hindu, expressed shock at the journalist’s death.

“That this is not an isolated death is clear from the fact that over 40 persons connected with the scam as witnesses or accused have died in mysterious circumstances,” Ravi said. “It points to insidious forces at work.”

On June 20, Sandeep Kothari, a journalist from Madhya Pradesh, was found dead after having been kidnapped late the previous night. Police arrested three local youths with ties to illegal mining in the area, which Kothari covered, and said the youths had admitted to murdering the journalist before setting his body on fire and burying it.

However, shortly after Kothari’s death, observers said police were targeting the journalist with a smear campaign, publicising older criminal charges against him. Some of the charges – which did not involve convictions, save one that was later overturned – dated back 10 years, and Kothari’s brother said that the men accused in the murder were involved in all of the criminal cases.

Kothari’s death came nearly two weeks after Jagendra Singh, a journalist who reported via social media in the state of Uttar Pradesh, succumbed to burns he suffered on June 1 during a police raid on his home. Singh, who also reported on illegal mining and corruption, said that he was set on fire by men acting at the behest of a local government official. However, authorities maintained that his death was a suicide.

Ravi said that last week’s death of Akshay Singh was “a chilling reminder of the dangers that investigative journalists, particularly those probing high profile scams, face in the course of their work.” He added: “Apart from a speedy investigation into Akshay Singh’s death and protection to all those connected with the scam, the government of Madhya Pradesh needs to ensure the safety of journalists working to uncover the truth.”

On Monday, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan promised to request that the Madhya Pradesh High Court order a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the Vyapam scandal. IPI welcomed that request.

“We are saddened and disturbed to hear of the death of another investigative journalist in India, and we urge the CBI to conduct a swift, full and transparent investigation and to hold anyone responsible for Mr. Singh’s death accountable,” IPI Director of Advocacy and Communications Steven M. Ellis said. “Indian authorities must take every step to ensure the protection of courageous reporters who work to uncover wrongdoing and corruption.”