Defamation most foul: Probes into deaths of MP, UP journalist biased from the start

So far the Uttar Pradesh Police has made little headway into the death of journalist Jagendra Singh, but given the manner in which he was allegedly defamed prior to his death, can they really be trusted with an impartial probe?

Singh, who died exactly a month ago, was said to have been facing harassment from an MLA, Ram Murti Verma, for having written Facebook posts about his misdeeds. And while the police had claimed that Singh had committed suicide by burning himself, a tell all confession just before his death reveals something else.

“Prakash Rai (the police inspector) was there and along with him were present four-five police personnel. The police team, led by Prakash Rai, barged into the house and started assaulting me. They could have as well arrested me,” Singh is reportedly heard saying in the video.

Since Singh’s death, the Akhilesh Yadav government and the police have tried everything in the book to dilute the case saying Singh was not a real journalist.

Samajwadi Party MLA Bhukal Nawab had said, “He was not in the electronic media or the print media. Social media toh ghar ghar mein chalta hai. Humara beta jo hai social media pe message idhar se udhar..sab yahi karte hain. (Social media is in every home. Even my son sends messages here and there…everyone does that) You will get 30 crore such people. I don’t understand how you can call someone like this a reporter.”

Singh’s protesting family were offered a compensation of Rs 30 lakh and two jobs from the government. However, there has been no word on whether the party is going to take any action against Verma.

New reports, however, reveal that a smear campaign was already been run against Singh. In August 2014, posters had come up all across Shahjahanpur claiming that Singh was a wanted criminal, and hence could not be a credible journalist.

According to The Indian Express , "“WANTED,” the poster said, with a message saying Singh had a non-bailable arrest warrant against him issued by a Shahjahanpur court for extorting money from traders and that he was on the run. It ended with a warning — “Yeh thugi/jaal sazi/avaidh vasooli karne ka mahir hain (he is a master extortionist)” — and a message asking people to keep away from him. A probe set up by the police to find out who had put up these posters soon fizzled out."

When Singh died, the police were quick to point out that Singh had criminal cases against him. The Indian Express report further finds out that Singh indeed had a temper issue and he would borrow money from the bureau chief of a Shahjahanpur daily.

Though Singh had seven cases against him, he was acquitted in most of them, and two were even non-cognizable. On the day Singh sustained burn injuries, the police had come to arrest him on  charges of kidnapping.

As the The Indian Express  report notes even after he was rushed for treatment, Singh had an FIR registered against him for attempting to commit suicide and preventing a public servant from discharging his duty and even criminal conspiracy.

The move to defame a victim is not unique to Singh’s case. In neighbouring Madhya Pradesh another journalist who had dared to go against the notorious sand mafia faced the same fate as Singh and the police had the same justification — he had criminal records against him.

Sandeep Kothari was abducted and burnt to death. His body was found in a train track in Maharashtra’s Wardha. And as journalists and opposition condemned the death, Madhya Pradesh police headquarters issued a press release stating that Kothari was a history-sheeter involved in 15 cases including rape.

This Scroll.in report describes how Kothari was defamed by the police even after his death. However, like in the case of Singh, it points out Kothari too was acquitted in most of the cases.

What is bizarre is how the police in both cases listed the criminal cases against the two journalists that may have been filed as a means to stop them from reporting. In the case of Jagendra Singh, since the accused are policemen himself, the defamation raises even more questions. While the demand for a CBI probe into his death has yielded little, the history of this case only raises doubts over whether the guilty will be brought to book.