Told my brother, leave journalism or you’ll die, says sister of slain journalist

Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh: The family members of reporter Sandeep Kothari, who was allegedly burnt alive by the land mafia, said that they had pleaded him to leave the profession as it posed great threat to his life.

"My brother was no rapist; they put all kinds of false cases which they never investigated. I pleaded with him so many times, leave journalism, you will die," said Kothari's sister Sandhya told ANI.

Meanwhile, Kothari's brother Rahul disclosed that over 20-25 false cases had been registered against the journalist, a price he had to pay for his endeavours to stop the misdeeds of the land mafia in the state.

"He was in jail for 17 months, 15 days back, he sent notices to 27 people who had acted as false witnesses against him. My deceased brother has been complaining of and writing about the mafias for five years now. His murder was a result of that. In these five years, some 20-25 false cases have been registered against him," he said.

Kothari's teary-eyed father said that it was inexplicable how a father feels when his young son passes away.

"You do not know how a father feels when his young son passes away. There are four to five powerful people with loads of money who control all this. Even the police works according to them," he said.

Kothari, who hails from Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh, was allegedly kidnapped and burnt alive in Wardha district of Maharashtra on Sunday.

The journalist was allegedly murdered by three persons over a land deal. So far, the police had arrested two people in connection with the case.

The journalist's killing puts a question mark on the freedom of expression in the country.