New Delhi: The Press Council of India (PCI) has sought a report from the Uttar Pradesh government and police on the death of a TV journalist Sulabh Srivastava who had recently reported on the liquor mafia. The TV journalist died Sunday night. The Uttar Pradesh police have said that Sulabh Srivastava died in a road accident in Pratapgarh district after his bike rammed into a pole Sunday. However, the opposition parties and the Editors Guild of India (EGI) have questioned the claim of the state police.
The TV journalist had recently run a story about the liquor mafia in the region. Later, he reportedly wrote to the police seeking protection, apprehending a threat to his life.
“Taking serious note of the death of journalist Sulabh Srivastava in Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Press Council of India chairman Justice Chandramouli Kumar Prasad has taken suo motu cognisance in the matter,” the Council said in a statement in Hindi, Tuesday.
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The Government of Uttar Pradesh, the state Director General of Police and the Superintendent of Police, Pratapgarh have been asked to send a report ‘based on the facts in the matter,” the council said.
The death of Srivastava has sparked a row with the opposition parties demanding a free and fair probe. Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav has sought a high-level inquiry into the case. On the other hand, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati has called for a swift, impartial and credible probe. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has demanded a CBI probe into the case.
The Editors Guild of India had said Monday that it was shocked by the ‘cavalier manner’ in which the UP police was treating the mysterious death of Srivastava.
