A journalist of a national news channel was found seriously injured on Katra Road in Pratapgarh district late Sunday night. He was rushed to the district hospital where he was declared dead on arrival by the doctors, police said.
“The mysterious death of a TV reporter in an alleged accident is extremely sad. The BJP government in this case should constitute a high-level probe, and tell the family members and the public that despite the apprehension of murder by the liquor mafia expressed by the reporter, why he was not provided security,” SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said in a tweet in Hindi.
Srivastava had recently run a news story against the liquor mafia in the region. Then on June 12, he wrote to the Prayagraj additional director general of police to seek protection.
Also, Additional Superintendent of Police Surendra Dwivedi said the crash took place on Sunday when Srivastava was returning from Asrahi village under the Lalganj police station area after reporting on an illegal arms manufacturing unit uncovered there.
The officer said police were probing various angles and the body of the deceased was sent for a post-mortem examination.
Meanwhile, Congress national general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted over the incident. “Liquor mafia is on killing spree across the state, spanning from Pratapgarh to Aligarh, but UP government is silent. The state government was sleeping, despite a journalist having exposed the truth and alerting the authorities about threat to his life. Does the UP government have reply to the tears of journalist Sulabh Srivastava’s family,” she questioned through her tweets
