UP: Whistleblower goes underground after receiving death threats

A whistle-blower, who dared to make a complaint to the Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta against a minister, is now being hounded by the latter. Literally terrorised by the minister's sustained intimidation, the whistle-blower is now on the run.

The threats came soon after UP Lokayukta N K Mehrotra took cognisance of the complaint filed by Akihilesh Kumar, a resident of Mahoba district against large scale land grabbing by UP Labour Minister Badshah Singh.

Kumar, told this scribe over telephone from an undisclosed location, "no sooner than the Lokayukta issued notice to the minister, urging him to submit a rejoinder to the complaint by September 23, I started receiving threatening phone calls from certain relatives of the minister."

He said, "Badsdhah Singh's close kin Shyam Singh and Rituraj Singh threatened to eliminate me if I would not withdraw my complaint."

Kumar rushed to the Lokayukta, who promptly issued a directive to the state government to provide security to the complainant.

"I personally told the state cabinet secretary as well as the Mahoba superintendent of police to promptly provide security to the complainant," confirmed Mehrotra. However, even though 10 days have passed since then, no action has been taken by the state administration to provide security to Kumar.

The complaint explicitly describes how Badshah Singh had gone on a land grabbing spree in Kharela town in Mahoba district where he had built a school, a college and a commercial complex -- all on government land.

"All the property was amassed by him after he was sworn in as a minister in the Mayawati government in May 2007," the complaint added.

The minister was however not available for comment. While his mobile phone remained switched off throughout the day, the staff at his residence as well as office maintained, "Mantraji is out of station."