Journalist shot dead in UP’s Sitapur, police point to ‘land dispute’

An FIR has been registered against unidentified persons on charges of murder, the police said, pointing to an alleged land dispute as the likely cause of murder. No arrests were made till the filing of the report even as six persons were detained for questioning, officials said.

The body was handed over to Bajpai’s family after postmortem on Sunday but they initially refused to perform the funeral rites till his killers were arrested and a job was given to a member. The district administration and the police persuaded them to proceed with the funeral after they were assured that their demands would be sent for consideration to the state government.

The body was cremated by the evening, the officials said.

Bajpai’s family suspects that he was killed owing to his news reports on irregularities in paddy procurement and stamp duty evasion in land purchases. The police, however, said neither the victim nor his family ever reported having received any threats.

Citing their preliminary probe, the police said the murder could be a fallout of a land dispute as Bajpai had raised concerns over proper formalities not being completed when a local resident purchased land in the area.

“There could be some other motive as well. Therefore, we are gathering information about those he was in contact with lately. We are also tracing his (victim’s) movement over the past few days in the hope of finding evidence,” said a police official.

“The suspects likely came from behind and intercepted Bajpai’s vehicle before opening fire at him. They fired at him even after he fell on the ground. He was shot from a close range,” he added.

The police said they received information around 3pm on Saturday about a body lying on the Imaliya-Sultanpur highway, officials said, adding that his motorcycle was found nearby.

Bajpai was taken to a hospital where doctors declared him dead, they said.

Prashant Kumar, Inspector General of Police, Lucknow range, said they were looking into all possible angles and that statements were being recorded to determine the exact motive behind the murder.

The police have collected CCTV footage from near the crime scene and are also scrutinising Bajpai’s call records. The victim’s cell phone has been sent for forensic analysis and the report is awaited.

Bajpai, who worked as a journalist for nearly a decade, is survived by his wife and two minor children. His elder brother died in a road accident about 15 years ago, his relative said.

The family has also demanded compensation.

UP Cong chief meets family

State Congress president Ajay Rai on Sunday met Raghvendra Bajpai’s family and demanded immediate arrest of the perpetrators. Rai also demanded a compensation of Rs 1 crore for the journalist’s family and a government job for his wife. Rai also reiterated the family’s allegation that Bajpai was murdered for exposing irregularities in paddy procurement.

“The brave journalist exposed corruption, hence he was murdered,” Rai told the media after meeting with the family. “If the murderers are not caught within two days, Congress will protest in the entire state as law and order has completely collapsed under the BJP government. The Congress stands with the victim’s family,” he said.

BJP MLA from Maholi, Shashank Trivedi also assured the family of full support from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

— PTI inputs