The Akhilesh Yadav Government on Monday assured the bereaved family of Shahjahanpur-based freelance journalist Jagendra Singh, who was allegedly set on fire by cops and goons of a State Minister, a compensation of `30 lakh and Government jobs for the deceased scribe’s two sons.
The announcement was made within hours after the Supreme Court sought the Centre and Uttar Pradesh Government’s responses to a plea seeking a CBI probe into the case that had hit the headlines. Following Chief Minister Yadav’s assurances, the family called off their eight-day protest.
A Bench of Justices MY Eqbal and Arun Mishra also issued a notice to the Press Council of India and sought its response to the PIl within two weeks. The Bench was hearing a plea filed by a Delhi-based journalist who had sought a CBI probe into scribe’s death in which MoS for Backward Class Welfare Ram Murti Singh Verma and five cops have already been booked.
“We are convinced with the assurances given by the Government to punish the culprits,” Sumer Singh, the slain scribe’s father, said after meeting the CM, who, however, remained non-committal for a CBI probe.
