A criminal case has been filed against a U.P. Minister of State for his alleged involvement in the killing of a journalist in Shahjahanpur district.
An FIR was registered at the Puwayan police station in Shahjahanpur district on Tuesday against the Minister of State for Backward Classes Welfare, Ram Murti Singh Verma, and five others for their alleged role in the killing of the journalist, Jagendra Singh.
The journalist, who was allegedly set afire by local police personnel on June 1 and sustained 60 per cent burns, died in a Lucknow hospital late on Monday night.
The five others named in the FIR are Ghufran, Akash Gupta, Amit Pratap Singh, Bhure and a police inspector, Sri Prakash Rai. The FIR under Sections 302, 120 B, 504 and 506 was registered on the basis of a complaint filed by the journalist’s son.
The journalist’s family members alleged that the police had conducted a raid on his residence in Avas Vikas Colony in Shahjahanpur on June 1 and that he was set afire by police personnel.
It is alleged that the journalist had posted messages on the Facebook about the Minister’s alleged involvement in illegal mining and land grabbing.
Shahjahanpur SP Babloo Kumar said a complaint was filed by a relative of the journalist on the basis of which the FIR was registered against the Minister and five others.
