The Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday suspended five policemen in connection with the killing of journalist Jagendra Singh in Shahjahanpur.
Singh was set on fire allegedly by a group of policemen and goons allied with Ram Murti Verma, State Minister for Dairy Development on June 1, 2015. He battled for life for a week at a hospital in Lucknow before he died on June 8.
In a >dying declaration on video , shot before he breathed his last because of burns, Singh said, “Why did they have to burn me? If the Minister and his people had something against me, they could have hit me and beaten me, instead of pouring kerosene over me and burning me.”
PIL seeks CBI probe
Meanwhile, a Public Interest Litigation has been filed in Allahabad High Court seeking directions for a CBI probe into the death of Singh.
The PIL was filed on June 11 by an NGO and is likely to come up for hearing on June 15. The petition said that the incident was so serious in nature that it calls for a CBI probe.
A direction was also sought for providing proper compensation to the scribe’s family.
Uttar Pradesh chief secretary, principal secretary (Home), DGP and others have been made opposite parties in this matter, the petitioner said.
