Sanitizer used to burn scribe to death in UP’s Balrampur, 3 held: Police

Balrampur superintendent of police (SP) Dev Ranjan Verma said the three men plied the two victims with alcohol and then used alcohol-based sanitizer to set them on fire.

Police in Uttar Pradesh’s Balrampur on Monday arrested three persons in connection with the murder of a local journalist and his friend.

The journalist and his friend were killed in a mysterious fire on Friday.(Representational Photo/Getty Images)

Those arrested have been identified as Akram Ali alias Abdul Qadir, Lalit Mishra and Keshvanand Mishra alias Rinku.

Rakesh Singh (45), who was working for a local newspaper, and his friend Mithlesh Sahu (36), suffered serious burns in a fire at his house in Kalwari village, Balrampur.

While Sahu died on the spot, Singh suffered 90 per cent burns and was referred to a Lucknow hospital where he succumbed to injuries, the police said.

The Balrampur police had constituted four teams to solve the murder mystery.

Balrampur superintendent of police (SP) Dev Ranjan Verma told media persons that alcohol-based sanitizer was used to set the journalist and his friend on fire.

“First the culprits served liquor to Rakesh Singh and Mithlesh Sahu. When the two were under the influence of liquor, the culprits set them on fire with the help of alcohol-based sanitizer,” Verma told media persons.

Commenting on the motive behind the murder, Verma stated that personal enmity was behind the murder and the investigation was still going on to ascertain all facts.

He denied the use of explosives in the incident.

“The culprits had tried to frame the murder as a mishap and fled away from the spot after committing the crime,” added Verma.

According to the district police chief two more persons were involved in the crime who will be arrested soon.

Earlier on Sunday, the district administration handed over a cheque of ₹5 lakh to the wife of the deceased journalist, officials said.

In a statement, police said that the cheque was handed over to the family of the deceased by legislator Paltu Ram.

The administration will also ensure that the two daughters of Rakesh Singh get free education.