MP scribe burnt to death by sand mafia
22 Jun 2015 6:23 AM IST
A 40-year-old local journalist was burnt to death allegedly by three persons, suspected to be closely linked to sand mafia, who set him ablaze apparently over his refusal to withdraw a court case, police said on Sunday.
The burnt body of Sandeep Kothari, who was abducted from <g data-gr-id="24">Katangi</g> tehsil in Balaghat district two days back, was found lying near railway tracks at Sindi town in Wardha district of east Maharashtra last night, police said. Additional Superintendent of Police Neeraj Soni said that Kothari was out of bail for the last two months in a rape case. "His (Kothari's) body was identified by his brother," it said.
BSP demanded a CBI probe into the murder, saying the scribe's family was being "tormented" by the sand mafia in the past as he had "exposed" their activities. Former MLA from Balaghat, Kishore <g data-gr-id="27">Samrite</g> said Kothari was falsely implicated in more than 12 criminal cases. "He was <g data-gr-id="28">externed</g> as he wrote against and also lodged complaints against manganese and sand mafias and other high and mighty people involved in organised crimes. His family too was tormented by mafias," said <g data-gr-id="29">Samrite</g>.
Police have already arrested three persons, identified as Rakesh Nasvani, Vishal Dandi and Brijesh Duharwal--all from <g data-gr-id="23">Katangi</g>--in connection with Kothari's murder. The Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) J S Markam said police suspected the trio were engaged in illegal mining and also running chit fund companies. He said they had allegedly kidnapped Kothari and set him ablaze.
They were pressurising Kothari, who was working as a tehsil correspondent for some Jabalpur-based Hindi dailies, to withdraw a case of illegal mining he had filed against some persons in a local court.
UP Govt should ensure fair probe into journalist's murder: Kalraj
Uttar Pradesh Government should carry out the investigation into the murder of Shahjahanpur- based journalist <g data-gr-id="48">Jagendra</g> Singh "in a fair and unbiased manner", Union Minister Kalraj Mishra said on Sunday. Addressing a two-day conference of the National Union of Journalists (India), which concluded at Sarnath here on Sunday, Mishra said, "The UP government should carry out the investigation into the journalist murder in a fair and unbiased manner. But <g data-gr-id="46">unfortunately</g> it is not being done, the government is trying to save its minister."
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