Vijay Pratap Singh, The Indian Express Senior Reporter who was injured in the blast outside an Uttar Pradesh minister's house in Allahabad on July 12, succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday. He would have turned 39 on July 30. He is survived by his wife Shashi, five-year-old son Yash and 10-month-old daughter Adya.
Singh was among seven people injured in a bomb attack aimed at UP Institutional Finance Minister Nand Gopal Nandi near his home in Allahabad on July 12. The bomb, kept in a moped, exploded near the minister’s 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.
The journalist 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 Singh was flown to Delhi.
Singh had joined the Express in April 2008, after having started his career with The Leader and later worked for The Times of India. He hit national headlines with a string of stories. This 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 elections in Jaunpur; and the controversial physical test that women, including those pregnant, had to take to be considered for a railway porter job.
“The death of Vijay Singh underscores the danger journalists face as they pursue their profession, even in the seemingly safe environs of an interview with a government official,” said Bob Dietz, Committee to Protect Journalists' Asia programme coordinator. “We urge the authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice swiftly.
A day after Singh succumbed to injuries, UP Chief Minister Mayawati announced a grant of Rs 5 lakh for Singh’s family. "The CM has announced a financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the family members of Vijay Pratap Singh who died during treatment in Delhi," an official spokesperson said in Lucknow. Allahabad District Magistrate Sanjay Prasad said the grant had been sanctioned from the CM’s Relief Fund.
UP Governor BL Joshi expressed grief over Singh's death and expressed sympathy with the bereaved family. In a condolence message, the Governor said Vijay’s “untimley death is an irreparable loss to journalism”. In Delhi, the Baharatiya Janata Party (BJP) expressed shock at the death. Spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain extended condolences to Vijay’s wife and children on behalf of his party, and called upon the government to extend all possible help to the family.
Media Advisor to the Prime Minister, Harish Khare, also expressed deep condolences over Vijay’s death.
The Editors Guild of India Wednesday expressed shock over the death of Singh. "We strongly condemn the criminalisation of politics in Uttar Pradesh and the failure of the police force to protect journalists carrying out their professional duties," a statement by the guild's president Rajdeep Sardesai and secretary general Coomi Kapoor said. The Guild urged the UP Chief Minister to ensure that Singh's family gets all assistance.
