A Muslim journalist couple from Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh, consumed poison allegedly after facing harassment from authorities following the husband’s exposure of corruption in road construction.
Before consuming poison, journalist Israr and his wife Miraj from Kasba Barkheda recorded a video accusing Bisalpur SDM Nagendra Pandey, Barkheda Nagar Panchayat Chairman Shyam Bihari Bhojwal, and contractor Moin of harassing them.
In the video, visibly distressed, Israr said, “A few days ago, I published a report on the corruption in road construction, and the Chief Minister took cognisance of it. Because of this, these people got a case registered against me on the night of 19 May. I was harassed in many other ways as well.”
“We have become so helpless that we have no option but to drink poison,” he said, alleging that “SDM Bisalpur Nagendra Pandey, Barkheda Nagar Panchayat President Shyam Bihari Bhojwal, and contractor Moin have harassed us so relentlessly that we were forced to take this step.”
Israr appealed to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for justice, stating, “The police who came to our house after a complaint ended up harassing our own family. We are taking this step of consuming poison. Yogi ji, we deserve justice.”
Later, the husband and wife can be seen consuming poison.
As the video went viral, their family members and close relatives became aware of the incident and rushed them to the district hospital for immediate medical attention.
Israr and his wife Miraj had been absconding after Barkheda police registered a case of extortion against Israr on the complaint of contractor Moin.
The police frequently raided their home, attempting to arrest him, which caused Israr great distress.
He alleged that the case was false and filed in retaliation for raising his voice against the poor quality of construction work carried out by the Nagar Panchayat.
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.
