Two slapped with case for coercing kin of dead journalist

A case was registered against two people for allegedly trying to arm-twist the family of a journalist who was burnt to death in Uttar Pradesh, police said on Monday.

Shahjahanpur-based journalist Jagendra Singh's family said some people close to Uttar Pradesh Minister Ram Moorti Verma, who has been accused of ordering Singh's killing, were forcing them to withdraw the case and go in for a settlement.

The family lodged a complaint with Deputy Inspector General (Bareilly) R K S Rathore, who ordered that the people named by Singh's family should be arrested at the earliest.

The journalist was allegedly set on fire during a police raid at his house in Sadar Bazar area on June 1. His family alleged that police officials set him on fire. Singh died from the injuries on June 8.