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Uttarkashi journalist death case: Police say preliminary probe, autopsy don’t hint at foul play
Uttarkashi Police find no foul play in journalist Rajiv Pratap's death; a special team will investigate family claims of threats linked to his reporting.
Uttarkashi Police on Tuesday said their preliminary investigation and postmortem report don’t hint at foul play in the Uttarkashi journalist death case, even though director general of police said a special investigation team (SIT) headed by deputy superintendent of police Uttarkashi has been constituted to probe family’s allegations that Rajiv Pratap was being threatened for his reporting and his death could be linked to that.
The body of 36-year-old Rajiv Pratap was recovered on September 28 from Joshiyara barrage of the Bhagirathi river in Uttarkashi district, ten days after his disappearance.
According to the police, on September 18 evening, Rajiv had dinner with his friend Soban Singh at a hotel near Uttarkashi bus stand and thereafter, he took his friend’s Alto car and left towards Gangori from Uttarkashi. The police recovered the car from Bhagirathi river the next day. Based on his uncle Kripal Singh’s complaint, an FIR was registered at Uttarkashi police station on September 20 under section 140 (3) (Kidnapping or abduction with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine a person) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Rajiv, an alumnus of Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi, ran a ‘Delhi Uttarakhand Live’ YouTube channel.The family alleged that he was being threatened for his reporting, and asked to remove a video report he made on Uttarkashi district hospital.
DGP Deepam Seth said, “For further investigation, a team has been constituted under the leadership of the Deputy SP, Uttarkashi. This team will thoroughly examine all the evidence collected so far, including clues related to the possible accident. They will record the statements of the people Rajiv last spoke to or met. Call details and electronic evidence will be reviewed in depth once again, and CCTV footage will be analyzed. A crash impact analysis of the damaged vehicle will also be conducted. Rajiv Pratap’s family has informed us that he had been receiving threatening calls. Although no such complaint was received by the SP Uttarkashi or the police earlier, this aspect will also be investigated. The team will cover all these angles in its investigation and submit its report at the earliest.”
Rajani Singh, sister of Rajiv Pratap, said, “He (Rajiv) made enemies because of his fierce and public-oriented reporting. We suspect someone has done wrong with him.” His uncle Kripal Singh said, “He (Rajiv) was recently threatened to take down a video he made about the poor state of Uttarkashi hospital.”
Superintendent of police (SP) Uttarkashi Sarita Dobhal said, “Our investigation so far and autopsy report don’t hint at any foul play. However, we are looking into the allegations levelled by the family that Rajiv’s death could be linked to the threats he was receiving for his reporting.”
“On September 18, at around 11:20 pm, Rajiv was seen at the Uttarkashi bus stand, and at approximately 11:39 pm, he was seen crossing the Gangori bridge, alone in his friend’s Alto car.Thereafter, he went missing. We launched a search for him and found the Alto car in the Bhagirathi river on September 19. We found his slippers inside the car. The car keys were in place, and the ignition was still in the “on” condition. On the analysis of footage of CCTV cameras, it was established that the vehicle fell about 50–55 meters below into the Bhagirathi river from Gangotri highway between Gangori and Garampani. Thevehicle was carried downstream by the river and was located about 300 meters from the accident site.”
“Since September 19, continuous efforts had been made by the police, SDRF, NDRF, and other rescue teams to trace Rajiv. We recovered Rajiv’s body from Joshiyara barrage on September 28. The body was sent for postmortem. According to the autopsy report by doctors, there were no external injury marks related to assault on Rajiv’s body. However, some internal injuries were found in the chest and abdominal area, which could have occurred during the accident and were sufficient to cause death,” she said.
