Police case against UP man for threatening to kill BJP leader in Facebook post

Former MLA Sharadbir Singh accused Sarvendra Pratap Singh of threatening his life and claiming a murder contract

Police have registered a case against a man here for allegedly threatening to kill a BJP leader and former MLA on social media, officials said on Friday.

A guy has been charged by the police in this area for reportedly threatening to murder a former MLA and BJP leader on social media.(AP)

Former MLA and BJP leader Sharadbir Singh alleged that Sarvendra Pratap Singh, from Mirzapur town of his assembly constituency, Jalalabad, had threatened to kill him within three months on a Facebook post on February 12, police said.

The former MLA further alleged that the accused had also claimed to have taken a ₹20 lakh contract for killing him, officials said.

Police said that in another post on February 13, Sarvendra reiterated the threat saying "Your (Sharadbir Singh) murder is certain after three months."

The BJP leader, who denied knowing the accused, said the threats had left his family in fear, the police added.

Sharadveer Singh was elected as an MLA from Jalalabad on an Samajwadi Party (SP) ticket in 1996, 2002 and 2017. He joined the BJP in 2022 ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.

Superintendent of Police Rajesh S said the former MLA met him on Thursday and submitted his complaint, following which a case has been registered against the accused at Allahganj police station.

A cyber cell team and a special police team have been formed to trace and arrest the accused.

The case has been registered under sections 308 (5) (extortion) and 351 (3) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act, police said.