Thaindian News

Lucknow, Sep 15 (IANS) A whistleblower, who complained to the Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta against alleged land grabbing by Labour Minister Badshah Singh, said Thursday that he was being hounded by the politician’s kin.

Akhilesh Kumar, a resident of Mahoba district, told IANS by phone: “Badshah Singh’s kin Shyam Singh and Rituraj Singh threatened to eliminate me if I do not withdraw my complaint.”

The minister was, however, not available for comment. While his mobile phone remained switched off, the staff at his residence as well as office said: “Mantri-ji is out of station.”

Akhilesh Kumar said the threats came soon after Lokayukta N.K. Mehrotra took cognizance of his complaint about the alleged land grabbing by the minister.

The whistleblower, who claimed to have gone into hiding, said: “As soon as the Lokayukta issued notice to the minister, urging him to submit a response to the complaint by Sep 23, I started receiving threatening phone calls from relatives of the minister.”

On receiving the threats, Akhilesh Kumar rushed to the Lokayukta who promptly issued a directive to the state government to give him security.

“I personally told the state cabinet secretary as well as the Mahoba superintendent of police to provide security to the complainant,” said Mehrotra.

Akhilesh Kumar claimed 10 days have passed since the Lokayukta’s directive to officials but no security has been given to him.

His complaint alleged that Badshah Singh, a legislator of the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party from Maudaha constituency, had gone on a land grabbing spree in Kharela town in Mahoba district where he built a school, a college as well as a commercial complex 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.