According to reports Jagannath Singh, a resident of Dhatura Khas village, was a “bhajan” (devotional songs) singer and used to be invited at religious functions in the area. Jagannath was very popular in the area and led a group, which specialised in musical recitation of the “Ramayana,” his younger brother Chandrika Singh said.
Last month, Jagannath was invited to sing the “Ramayana” in a village. “After the programme was over, some among the audience, mainly the young ones, asked him to sing vulgar bhojpuri (local dialect) songs but he refused,” Chandrika said.
“There were women and children also in the programme and besides Jagannath essentially was a bhajan singer. So he refused,” he said. Enraged over Jagannath’s refusal, the youths allegedly thrashed him with sticks and lathis, wounding him seriously. The youths left him thinking that he must have been dead.
“We rushed to the village on getting the information and found him lying in a pool of blood. He was admitted to Gorakhpur Medical College Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries a few days ago,” said Chandrika.
He accused the local police of ignoring the family’s repeated request to lodge a report and arrest the culprits. “Our pleadings fell on deaf ears,” the grieving brother alleged.
The police reportedly threatened the family with dire consequences if it did not withdraw its complaint. However, after refusing to bow to any pressure, the family has now approached senior police officials to punish the killers of Jagannath.