Two men were arrested Wednesday evening for allegedly assaulting a journalist in Dehradun, hours after which he died at a hospital, said police. The victim has been identified as Pankaj Mishra (50), an independent journalist based out of the Capital.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Dehradun, Ajai Singh, citing the complaint filed in the case by Mishra’s brother, said the incident took place on Monday night in Rajpur when a group of men barged into Mishra’s house. “After recording statements of witnesses and neighbours, and collecting CCTV footage, we have arrested two men in connection with the case,” he said.
SSP Singh said the main accused, Amit Sehgal, is a digital media journalist and the second accused has been identified as Parthoshil Seal. “The duo [Mishra and Sehgal] were acquaintances and had a dispute that escalated after spilling out on social media. The cause of death remains unknown after a post-mortem, so the family has requested a second procedure to be conducted…,” the SSP said.
In a now-deleted Facebook post, Mishra had criticised the government and the accused. Redacting it later, he wrote in another post that he was under the influence of alcohol when the previous post was uploaded and that a few people were trying to tarnish his image after it went up.
Arvind, in the complaint, said around 10 pm on Monday, the main accused, along with some others, came to Mishra’s house and started abusing and assaulting him with the “intention to kill”.
“Sehgal began kicking and punching him on his chest and stomach, as a result of which my brother started bleeding from his mouth. One of the youths who had come along with him said, ‘He is a heart and liver patient, hit him on the stomach and chest’. Sehgal said, ‘This will be enough to finish him’,” the complaint alleged.
The accused allegedly took away phones belonging to Mishra and his wife. Mishra managed to inform the police about the incident and when they arrived at the spot, they asked for a medical examination and a written complaint.
However, due to injuries and fear, Mishra said he would file a complaint in the morning.
Around 3 am on Tuesday, his condition deteriorated. “My sister-in-law woke up… my brother got up from the bed and suddenly collapsed…. Although he was taken by ambulance to Doon Hospital, doctors declared my brother dead on arrival,” said the complaint.
The FIR was registered late Tuesday night at Rajpur police station under BNS sections 103 (murder), 304 (snatching), 333 (house-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint), and 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace).
After making the arrests, Dehradun Police said Mishra, who lived in his house as a tenant, was found face down and unconscious on the floor near his bed on Tuesday. He was taken to Doon Hospital, where doctors declared him dead. Although a post-mortem was conducted, police said Mishra’s family submitted a written request to the SSP seeking a second post-mortem by a panel of doctors.
On the SSP’s directions, police said correspondence was initiated with the authorities and the post-mortem of the deceased was conducted again today by a panel of doctors.
“During preliminary investigation of the case, the investigating officer (IO) recorded statements of the complainant, the deceased’s wife, the landlord, and nearby witnesses. The field unit team inspected the scene of the incident and collected physical evidence. Based on this, the IO, after prolonged questioning, arrested Sehgal and his associate on Wednesday,” police said.
While Sehgal is a Dehradun resident, Seal lives in Mumbai.
“So far, action has been taken in the case based on evidence and statements received. For a detailed and thorough investigation, the Cyber Cell/SOG/Forensic Team have also been deployed. Directions have been issued to collect comprehensive facts and evidence from all angles and to ensure a fair and transparent investigation,” the SSP further said.
Pankaj Mishra, an independent journalist based out of the Capital 
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