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Journalism of Courage
Three decades ago, on October 5, 1995, a 22-year-old Pradeep Kumar Bajpai, who had gone to the Betwa river for idol immersion, did not return home in Jalaun district of Uttar Pradesh. His worried family began searching for him. They were told by locals that he was “assaulted and drowned” in the river, allegedly by his rivals — all distant relatives and neighbours — with whom the family had a long-standing land dispute.
Pradeep’s family approached the district administration and police to trace and get a complaint registered against those whom they suspected were responsible for his death. However, all efforts to trace Pradeep’s body remained unsuccessful.
His body was never found.
After failing to get assistance from the authorities in getting a case registered, Pradeep’s father, Uma Shankar Bajpai, a retired government employee, approached a local court.
Three years later, in October 1998, the court directed the local police station to register a case. However, no FIR was registered at the time. According to the Bajpai family, the police claimed that a copy of the court did not reach them.
“For months, my father shuttled between the court and the police station to find out why the order had not been delivered. Since he was a government clerk, he could not spare time every day to pursue the matter… And time passed by,” said Devendra Kumar, the elder brother of Pradeep.
“In 1998, I got a job in the Education Department and was posted in Banda district. The accused persons began harassing and putting pressure on my father not to pursue the matter. Fearing for his safety, he could not take the case forward. Since the accused were our neighbours, the threat was much greater. The matter remained stalled for years, and my father’s health also kept deteriorating,” said Devendra Kumar, who retired as principal of a government primary school in 2019.
According to Pradeep’s family, a property dispute with the accused has been going on since 1989, and the matter is still pending in the court.
In 2021, Uma Shankar died without seeing any headway in the matter.
In March this year, Devendra approached the Allahabad High Court. Submitting a copy of the 1998 lower court’s order, he urged the High Court that a case be registered in compliance with the earlier directive.
Now, after three decades, an FIR was finally registered on Wednesday at the Kotra police station against seven persons — all distant relatives and neighbours of Pradeep — on charges of murder and destruction of evidence.
“Our faith in the system has been restored. There were nine people involved in the case… While we were struggling to get the case registered, two of the accused died. We now hope that the remaining accused will finally be brought to justice,” Devendra Kumar Bajpai, 68, told The Indian Express over the phone.
Superintendent of Police, Jalaun, Durgesh Kumar, said a probe is underway. “Given the case is old, a thorough probe will be conducted and action will be taken based on available evidence,” the SP added.
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