UP: Journalist, wife consume poison on camera over 'harassment' by SDM, two others

Pilibhit, UP: A local journalist and his wife here posted a video on social media accusing a sub-divisional magistrate, a nagar panchayat chairman and a contractor of harassment and consumed poison on camera on Thursday, police said.

According to officers from Barkheda police station, Israr alleged in the video that they were driven to taking the extreme step due to ongoing harassment by Bisalpur sub-divisional magistrate Nagendra Pandey, Barkheda nagar panchayat chairman Shyam Bihari Bhojwal and contractor Moin Hussain.

The couple was rushed to the district hospital, where Israr is said to be out of danger while his wife is in a critical condition, an officer said.

In the purported video, Israr claimed that he had recently published a news report on an alleged corruption in the Barkheda nagar panchayat, which he claimed caught the attention of the Chief Minister's Office.

Following this, Israr said he began to be harassed. Hussain, Bhojwal and Pandey continuously threatened the family and falsely implicated them in a case, he claimed.

"We are drinking poison and ending our lives. Yogi ji, we need justice," Israr said in the video.

Responding to the viral video, sub-divisional magistrate Pandey told media that he has directed the Barkheda Station House Officer to investigate the matter.

He dismissed the allegations as "baseless" and claimed "there is no such issue."

Bisalpur Circle Officer Prateek Dahiya told reporters that the police are conducting a thorough investigation from all angles.

Meanwhile, Bhojwal, in his statement to the press, said that he has no involvement in the incident.

"I have come to know about the incident, but I have nothing to do with it. There may have been some dispute with the contractor," he said.

Contractor Hussain defended himself by claiming that Israr had visited one of his construction sites on May 18 and allegedly demanded Rs 15,000, and threatened to publish a negative news report if his demand was not met.

Hussain claimed that Israr used abusive language and issued death threats.

He added that he had filed a complaint with the police following the incident.

The couple's family members claimed that Israr and his wife were facing continuous harassment. They accused Pandey, Bhojwal and Hussain of issuing threats and framing them in false cases, with the police also being allegedly complicit.

The family demanded that a case be registered against the three individuals named in the video.