UP must act swiftly, firmly

A journalist has been killed by policemen acting together with a Uttar Pradesh minister. If this barely caused any ripples or dented the nation’s consciousness, our apathetic society is to blame. It is unimaginable that a minister could use a posse of policemen to barge into Jagendra Singh’s home and pour petrol/kerosene over him and kill in such brazen fashion.

UP is known for lax standards in public life, but it’s still a telling comment that Ram Murti Verma, the minister in question, is still a part of the Akhilesh Yadav Cabinet instead of being suspended while the inquiry is on. A judicial probe must be ordered swiftly on the basis of Jagendra Singh’s dying declaration: “Why did they have to burn me? If the minister and his people had something against me, they could have hit me, beaten me, instead of pouring kerosene over me and burning me.” The journalist may have been posting views against the minister in social media, but that doesn’t alleviate the intensity of the crime. This is a clear case where the National Human Rights Commission needs to indict the minister, his henchmen and the policemen involved.