A Shahjahanpur-based journalist Jagendra Singh who had exposed a scam involving Uttar Pradesh’s Minister for Backward Classes Welfare Ram Murti Verma, was set on fire and burnt alive by policemen during a ‘raid’ on his house. He has succumbed to his injuries, after implicating the Samajwadi Party Government Minister in his dying declaration.
In Pilibhit, another journalist who had exposed dubious land deals was tied to a motorcycle and dragged.
These horrific incidents point to the free rein enjoyed by criminals under patronage of the Akhilesh Yadav Government and ruling Samajwadi Party.
The CPI(ML) condemns these incidents and demands independent judicial probes to establish the nexus between police, corrupt and criminal forces, and Minister and SP leaders behind these attacks, and to punish the guilty.
