NRP Desk
Lucknow: THREE DECADES ago, on October 5, 1995, a 22-year-old Pradeep Kumar Bajpai, who had gone to the Betwa river for idol immersion, did not return home in Jalaun district of Uttar Pradesh. His worried family began searching for him. They were told by locals that he was “assaulted and drowned” in the river, allegedly by his rivals-all distant relatives and neighbors – with whom the family had a long-standing land dispute. Pradeep’s family approached the district administration and police to trace and get a com-plaint registered against those whom they suspected were re-sponsible for his death. However, all efforts to trace Pradeep’s body remained unsuccessful. His body was never found. After failing to get assistance from the authorities in getting a case registered, Pradeep’s father, Uma Shankar Bajpai, a retired government employee, approached a local court. Three years later, in October 1998, the court directed the local police station to register a case. However, no FIR was registered at the time. According to the Bajpai family, police claimed that a copy of the court did not reach them. “For months, my father shuttled between the court and the police station to find out why the order had not been de-livered.” said Devendra Kumar, the elder brother of Pradeep. “In 1998, I got a job in the Education Department and was posted in Banda district. The accused persons began harassing and putting pressure on my father not to pursue the matter. Fearing for his safety, he could not take the case forward….” said Devendra Kumar, who retired as principal of a government primary school in 2019.
