Bhopal, Jul 20 (IANS): Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday admitted that there were irregularities in selection of candidates through exams conducted by Vyapam, but only in the case of 1,338 people.

Chouhan said over 3.54 lakh candidates have been selected through exams conducted by the Madhya Pradesh Vyavsayik Pareeksha Mandal (Vyapam).

The percentage of irregularities was "very low" -- around 0.01 percent -- but people were trying to defame the state, the chief minister said at a programme to honour children from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

"Over one crore candidates have appeared in exams conducted by Vyapam, and 3.54 lakh candidates have been selected, among which irregularities were detected in only 1,338 cases. This is like 0.01 percent," he said.

Chouhan assured the people that the guilty will not go unpunished.

The Vyapam scam first came to light in 2013. Around 2,100 people have been arrested, while over 40 people, allegedly connected with the scam, have died under mysterious circumstances. It was earlier being investigated by a Special Investigation Team of the state police, but the Supreme Court recently entrusted the matter to the CBI to probe.