Kerala journalist dies after vehicle knocks down his scooter, mother suspects foul play

The police formed a special team to probe the incident, but the vehicle, believed to be a truck according to local people, remained untraced until late night.

A journalist was killed in a hit-and-run case in Thiruvanantha-puram on Monday, with his family suspecting foul play.

According to the police, S V Pradeep, 36, who was editorial director at recently launched YouTube channel Bharatlive, died when his two-wheeler was hit by an unidentified vehicle.

The police formed a special team to probe the incident, but the vehicle, believed to be a truck according to local people, remained untraced until late night.

The victim’s mother, Vasantha Kumari, alleged that Pradeep had faced threat on social media.

Pradeep, who had worked with several Malayalam TV channels, had been known for several exposes against the state government on his YouTube channel. He had run a series of reports on the gold smuggling scandal, and other crimes allegedly involving politicians and their families.

The Kerala Union of Working Journalists wrote to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and sought a comprehensive probe into Pradeep’s death.

Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala sought a high-level probe into the death. “It is shocking that the police could not so far trace the vehicle that hit the scooter of the journalist. The government should clear the mystery behind this accident,” he said.

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