A journalist of a national news channel was found seriously injured on Katra Road in Pratapgarh district late Sunday night. He was rushed to the district hospital where he was declared dead on arrival by the doctors, police said.
“The mysterious death of a TV reporter in an alleged accident is extremely sad. The BJP government in this case should constitute a high-level probe, and tell the family members and the public that despite the apprehension of murder by the liquor mafia expressed by the reporter, why he was not provided security,” SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said in a tweet in Hindi.
Srivastava had recently run a news story against the liquor mafia in the region. Then on June 12, he wrote to the Prayagraj additional director general of police to seek protection.
Additional director general of police (ADG) Prayagraj zone Prem Prakash, who visited the spot on Monday, said that prima facie it appeared that Srivastava’s motorcycle collided with an electricity pole due to which he received serious head injuries. After commuters called police, they rushed Srivastava to the district hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival, he said.
Also, Additional Superintendent of Police Surendra Dwivedi said the crash took place on Sunday when Srivastava was returning from Asrahi village under the Lalganj police station area after reporting on an illegal arms manufacturing unit uncovered there.
The officer said police were probing various angles and the body of the deceased was sent for a post-mortem examination.
