Scribe who attempted suicide dies

A local journalist, who allegedly tried to commit suicide in front of the Madhya Pradesh Secretariat here, succumbed at a hospital, police said today.
Journalist Rajendra Kumar, who used to run a weekly newspaper here, had consumed poison yesterday while demanding action against corruption in the state government.
He was admitted to Hamidia hospital where he died late last night, police said.
Sources said prior to his suicide bid, Kumar had sent a message to a senior police official and his journalist friends saying that he was allegedly being threatened by officials against whom he had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the High Court.

The journalist is reported to have used the RTI to find documents about officials who did not belong to the SC category but had used fake certificates to get jobs.
Rajendra had also claimed that though no action was being taken against guilty officials, he was being pressurized to withdraw his complaint.

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in MP Assembly, Ajay Singh today charged the state government with being insensitive towards such issues.
In a statement, Ajay said the manner in which journalist Rajendra Kumar committed suicide had exposed the BJP government in the state.
He demanded action against those responsible for the journalist's suicide and that one member of his family must be given a government job.

"It is futile to expect any justice from a government which has become blind, dumb and deaf and which has no sensitivity," he claimed.