Journalist Dies A Day After Flagging Mafia Threat, Cops Call It ‘Accident’

The journalist had written to senior police officials saying he felt threatened following his recent reportage of liquor mafias in the district.

A television journalist from Pratapgarh district of Uttar Pradesh died last night. The police have attributed the death a “motorcycle accident”.

Sulabh Shrivastava, who worked for ABP News and its regional arm, ABP Ganga, had written to senior police officials saying he felt threatened following his recent reportage of liquor mafias in the district.

Surendra Dwivedi, a senior police official in Pratapgarh, said in a statement: “Mr Shrivastava was returning on his motorcycle after media coverage, at around 11 pm at night on Sunday. He fell from his motorcycle near a brick kiln. Some labourers lifted him from the road and then used his phone to call his friends, and they called an ambulance too. He was taken to the district hospital where the doctors declared him dead.”

“Initial investigations have revealed he was alone on his bike and fell after his bike collided with a handpump by the road. We are investigating other angles too,” Mr Dwidedi further added.

In a photograph, reportedly taken at the scene of the “accident”, shows the journalist lying on the ground with what appear to be injuries to his face. His clothes seem to have been taken off – his shirt has been almost entirely removed and his trousers unbuttoned and pulled down, NDTV reported.

A letter, allegedly written by the journalist, has now surfaced on social media and been tweeted by senior journalists from his former channel. Mr Shrivastava had written to police telling them he feared for his life.

“A report of mine against the liquor mafia in the district had run on the news portal run by my channel on June 9. Since then there has been a lot of buzz about this report. When I leave my home I feel as if someone is following me… I have heard through my sources the liquor mafia is unhappy with my reporting and can harm me. My family is also very worried,” Mr Shrivastava said in the alleged letter.

A senior police official from the area Prem Prakash told ABP News in a phone-in interview that he had been aware of the letter and had instructed local officials to evaluate the threat.

Opposition Congress has targetted the ruling BJP government over the death of the journalist.

“The liquor mafia has killed from Aligarh to Pratapgarh but the UP government is silent. Journalists are asking dangerous questions to expose the truth. The government is asleep,” Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said in a tweet.

शराब माफिया अलीगढ़ से प्रतापगढ़ तक:पूरे प्रदेश में मौत का तांडव करें।

उप्र सरकार चुप।

पत्रकार सच्चाई उजागर करे, प्रशासन को खतरे के प्रति आगाह करे।

सरकार सोई है।

क्या जंगलराज को पालने-पोषने वाली उप्र सरकार के पास पत्रकार सुलभ श्रीवास्तव जी के परिजनों के आंसुओं का कोई जवाब है?

— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) June 14, 2021