Journalist found dead in UP’s Pratapgarh, probe on

Sulabh Srivastava had written to the ADG only a day earlier, stating that his and his family’s lives were under threat from certain persons who were unhappy with his coverage of the illicit liquor trade in the district

A journalist of a national news channel was found seriously injured on Katra Road in Pratapgarh district late Sunday night. He was rushed to the district hospital where he was declared dead on arrival by the doctors, police said.

Representational image. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Police said Sulabh Srivastava (44), a resident of Station Road area, was returning home around 10pm after work. Commuters found him injured on Katra Road and called the police.

Additional director general of police (ADG) Prayagraj zone Prem Prakash, who visited the spot on Monday, said that prima facie it appeared that Srivastava’s motorcycle collided with an electricity pole due to which he received serious head injuries. After commuters called police, they rushed Srivastava to the district hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival, he said. Prakash added that police were investigating all angles.

Srivastava had written to the ADG only a day earlier, stating that his and his family’s lives were under threat from certain persons who were unhappy with his coverage of the illicit liquor trade in the district.

Srivastava had requested senior police officials to hold an inquiry and provide him and his family with security.

An FIR under Sections 302 [murder] and 506 [criminal intimidation] of the Indian Penal Code was filed against unidentified persons at Pratapgarh Kotwali police station on Monday afternoon on the complaint of Srivastava’s wife, Renuka.

In her complaint, she said that circumstances suggest that her husband was murdered for running news about mafia who tried to cover up the crime by making it appear like an accident.

Meanwhile, Congress national general secretary Priyanka Gandhi criticised the Uttar Pradesh government for Srivastava’s death. “Liquor mafia from Aligarh to Pratapgarh: Dance of death in the entire state. UP government silent. Journalists should expose the truth, warn the administration about the danger. The government is asleep. Does the UP government, which nurtures Jungle Raj, have any answer to the tears of the family members of journalist Sulabh Srivastava?” Gandhi tweeted in Hindi.

Samajwadi Party leader Richa Singh also flayed the UP government and accused the police of failing to provide Srivastava with security despite his request. “This calls for a thorough probe and action against the guilty,” she said.