BAREILLY: A former MP and Samajwadi Party (SP) leader who had gone to the house of slain journalist Jagendra Singh to offer his condolences to the bereaved family has been accused of instead trying to browbeat them into silence. This came even as the UP government suspended four policemen, among them two officers, whose names have cropped up in connection with the incident that has triggered a national furore.

Mithiliesh Kumar , who visited the wife and children of Singh at their Shahjahanpur residence on Saturday, has been quoted by both visitors and family members as saying, “The minister cannot do such a thing. Had the police wanted, they could have burned your father inside the police station instead of doing this at his house.”

Infuriated at this, local residents raised slogans against the leader and chased him away, forcing him to flee on foot till his driver came to the spot and rescued him.

VIDEO: Watch scribe's dying words

On his part, Kumar denied the allegation and put the blame on the BJP. “I had gone to express my condolence and meet the bereaved family, but some BJP leaders incited people present there. How can I presume that the minister is guilty when he was not present at the spot.”

Jagendra Singh, who was allegedly set on fire at his Shahjahanpur residence on June 1 by a raiding team of police personnel, died a week later. The cops, Singh's family has charged, were sent by Ram Murti Verma, a minister in the Akhilesh Yadav government against whom the journalist had carried a sustained campaign on social media. His dying declaration, caught in a chilling video that has gone viral and triggered a storm of protest across the country , asked a magistrate who had gone to record the statement why Murti had to burn him.

“He (the minister) could have beaten me up, if he wanted,” Singh says in the video, his voice breaking in pain because of the burns on his body.

READ ALSO: 5 cops suspended, but minister, aides still at large

Talking to TOI, Rahul, the younger son of the dead journalist, said, “The SP leader, who is also a former MP, told us 'Don’t think that by filing a case against the minister you can get him arrested because he can only be held responsible if a police probe finds him guilty. Why would a minister need to indulge in such tactics and that too with police help? If the police had really wanted to set your father on fire, they could have easily done so inside the police station rather than doing it at your house'.”

Rahul added that Kumar also said the journalist was a “blackmailer” who had written about him too in the past. “The SP leader told us, 'Your father was writing unnecessarily against the minister on Facebook. It is better if you act responsibly and keep the interest of your family in mind rather than getting carried away'.”

READ ALSO: Forensic experts visit scribe's home

Taken aback by Kumar's criticism, Rahul said, “Look at our house and our standard of living and then say that my father was a blackmailer. We live in a modest accommodation owned by our grandfather. We don’t have a TV set nor an inverter because my father could not afford them. Scan his bank accounts and find out how much ill-gotten wealth he has accumulated.”

Meanwhile, acting swiftly in the wake of mounting criticism over the death of Singh and the video going viral, district police chief, Shahjhanpur, Babloo Kumar suspended a sub-inspector, assistant sub-inspector and two constables who were part of the police team that had gone to the house of the journalist to arrest him. It has also been recommended that Kotwali in charge Sri Prakash Rai, who the journalist named in his dying declaration, be suspended.

Read this story in Hindi: अगर पुलिस चाहती तो तुम्हारे पिता को कस्टडी में जला सकती थी — पूर्व मंत्री

