Uttar Pradesh: Journalist Allegedly Burnt to Death for Writing against Samajwadi Party Leader

A journalist from Uttar Pradesh's Shahjahanpur district died after allegedly being burnt alive over an article and a Facebook post against Samajwadi Party MLA Ram Murti.

The incident occurred on 1 June.

Jagendra Singh, who sustained severe burn injuries, was taken to a nearby hospital. He died while he was shifted to a Lucknow hospital. 

Journalist Jagendra Singh's family has blamed the police for Singh's death. They alleged that the police came to their house last Monday and set Singh on fire after beating him up.

However, the UP police have refuted the allegations, saying Singh committed suicide.

"We had to arrest Jagendra Singh in connection with a case, but he set himself on fire when we went to take him into custody," Navbharat Times quoted Shahjahanpur SP as saying.

Singh is said to have been 'killed' over a news article he wrote gainst MLA Ram Murti. In the article, he claimed that Murti was involved in unlawful activities, including forced land occupation and illegal mining.

These accusations are said to have enraged the MLA who allegedly implicated Singh in a false case. But what added to the fuel was his Facebook post he wrote on the day he was burnt alive.

In the post, Singh blamed Murti of trying to obstruct one Amit Yadav alias Rinku from getting Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) ticket. He even accused Murti of backstabbing his own party members and helping a BJP leader in the Assembly elections. Singh also accused Murti of being an opportunist.