Wounded in bomb attack on UP Minister,Express reporter dies

On the morning of July 12,seven persons were injured in the blast that police said was targeted to kill UP’s Institutional Finance Minister Nand Gopal Nandi.

The bomb,kept in a moped,exploded near the Minister’s Bahadurganj residence. Those injured included minister Nandi; his gunner Sanjay Singh; sanitation employee Shyam Babu; the minister’s PRO Anuj Pandey; Pritam Singh,and BSP worker Rakesh Malviya.

Vijay Pratap Singh had gone to meet the Minister and the blast occurred when they were stepping out of Nandi’s residence at 10.50 am. Police said the bomb was triggered by a remote-control device.

All victims suffered multiple injuries and were admitted to Jeevan Jyoti Hospital in Allahabad the morning of the blast. Malviya died a few hours later.

The same evening,the government flew Nandi to the Sanjay Gandhi Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow.

The next day,the government moved Sanjay to SGPGI while Vijay was flown to Delhi by The Indian Express.

Doctors at the R&R Hospital said Vijay underwent several surgeries last week and showed some signs of improvement but his condition sharply deteriorated yesterday when vital organs started failing. “His blood pressure dropped in the morning,the kidney then collapsed,” said one of the doctors attending on him.

Nandi and Sanjay are being treated at SGPGI and their condition has improved,doctors said. The three other injured are in a hospital in Allahabad.

On July 16,police claimed that the bomb attack was carried out by “contract killer” Rajesh Pilot hired by Chaka block panchayat head Dilip Mishra who had “an old enmity” with the minister. Mishra is a history-sheeter and in jail.

Police arrested Dilip’s two alleged associates Kripa Shankar Pandey and Rajesh Yadav. The two were named along with Mishra as suspects in the FIR lodged by the minister’s cousin Kamal Kumar. Police said Pilot is still at large.

Vijay Pratap Singh,who joined The Indian Express in April 2008,started his career with The Leader in Allahabad and later worked at The Times of India. At The Indian Express,he covered Allahabad and the region,including Kaushambi,Chitrakoot,Pratapgarh,Janunpur and Mirzapur.

He hit national headlines with a string of stories. These included the coverage of the three-day encounter between dacoit Ghanshyam Kewat and 400 policemen; the mysterious death of Indian Justice Party candidate Bahadur Sonkar during the Lok Sabha election in Jaunpur and the controversial physical test that women had to take to be considered for jobs as porters in the Railways.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati said Vijay was a “dedicated,fearless and talented journalist” whose death is “an irreparable loss to the world of journalism.” She offered her condolences to the family.

“What can one say when a Cabinet minister is attacked in broad daylight,” said Akhilesh Yadav,state president of SP. “When we are not able to protect the life of a journalist doing his job,what kind of democracy is the state administration trying to protect?”

Said Rita Bahuguna Joshi,UP Congress President: “It is very unfortunate that we have lost such a precious life. Vijay was a courageous reporter and his reports left an impression on readers. The Uttar Pradesh government did not do its duty,I hope it now does all that it can to help Vijay’s family.”

BJP spokesman Hriday Narain Dixit said that “Vijay had showed courage in reporting on the politician-criminal nexus in Eastern UP.”