Allahabad High Court: Letter petition asks for probe into journalist's death in UP, compensation to family

A letter petition has been filed before the Allahabad High Court seeking suo motu action against the murder of a journalist and his friend in Uttar Pradesh, Live Law reported.

The journalist Rakesh Singh had worked with Hindi newspaper Rashtriya Swaroop in Balrampur. Singh and his friend were reportedly murdered, and Singh's house then set on fire to make it look like an accident, on November 27. The police arrested three people in connection with the deaths. According to Scroll, Singh had "exposed corruption" under the village head, whose son is one of the accused in his death.

Citing a rise in crimes such as these, the letter petition sought a probe into the case by a special investigation agency and compensation for the family of the deceased.

According to LiveLaw, the petition said that this is a "new trend", noting the death of a priest in Rajasthan, who was reportedly burned alive, and similarly of a farmer in Uttar Pradesh.

It noted that Singh's death was a crime of "heinous nature" which affects the "collective conscience of the public and need to be investigated in the proper manner".

Update on December 3

The Press Council of India has taken suo motu cognizance of the alleged murder of Rakesh Singh. The council has called for a report from the Uttar Pradesh government in the matter.