Day after flagging threat to life from liquor mafia, TV journo found dead; cops probe all angles

LUCKNOW: A national news channel journalist was found dead in Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh district late on Sunday night -- just a day after he wrote to UP police about a threat to himself and his family from liquor mafia.

Sulabh Srivastava, who worked with the ABP News channel in Pratapgarh district, was found dead near the Katra Crossing under Kotwali police station area between 10 pm and 11 pm.

He was returning from Lalganj to Pratapgarh on his bike after media coverage. "Primary investigations suggest he died after his motorbike hit an electric pole/hand pump. But all other possible angles are being probed in the case," Pratapgarh ASP East Surendra Dwivedi said on Monday.

Just a day before the incident, Srivastava had written to the additional director general of police (ADG-Prayagraj Zone) about a threat to himself and his family from the liquor mafia due to his recent news reports on illicit liquor dens in Pratapgarh district.

Meanwhile, Congress national general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted over the incident. "Liquor mafia is on killing spree across the state, spanning from Pratapgarh to Aligarh, but UP government is silent. The state government was sleeping, despite a journalist having exposed the truth and alerting the authorities about threat to his life. Does the UP government have reply to the tears of journalist Sulabh Srivastava's family," she questioned through her tweets.