Agra: An employee at the Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar University in Uttar Pradesh has attempted suicide after being allegedly beaten and abused by the son of state Higher Education Minister Yogendra Upadhyay even as the minister has rubbished the claims.
An official said that the employee identified as Dinesh Kumar, attempted suicide on Tuesday. The family has admitted him to the hospital where he is undergoing treatment there. The employee's wife has accused Higher Education Minister Yogendra Upadhyay's younger son Aalukik Upadhyay of assaulting and humiliating her husband. The woman said that her husband has been posted at the minister's residence for two years. The minister's sons beat him every day and are not granting her husband leave even on Sundays, the woman said adding the torture forced her husband to take the extreme step on Tuesday.
The employees at the university staged a protest against the alleged high handedness of the minister's son and raised questions as to on whose orders the employee was posted at the minister's place. Vice Chancellor Prof Ashu Rani has constituted an investigation committee. Deputy Registrar Pawan Kumar has been removed from his post as part of alleged damage control.
Minister Yogendra Upadhyay rubbished the allegations regarding the attempted suicide by Dinesh Kumar, the employee at Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar University. Reacting to the allegations, Upadhyay said that a conspiracy was hatched against him and his family to implicate him in false cases.
“Earlier also an attempt was made to implicate me and my son in a case, but the conspiracy of the opponents failed. I had no role in that matter. Now again a conspiracy has been hatched against him. No university employee is working at my residence. This is all a lie,” he added.
Yogendra Upadhyay has a long association with controversies. Earlier, on 24 November 2023, the minister courted controversy after he was photographed with the mother of slain Army soldier Captain Shubham Gupta of Agra, who was martyred in an encounter with terrorists in Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir, reached Agra.
Soon after the mortal remains of the soldier reached his house in Agra, the Higher Education Minister visited the family with a cheque of Rs 50 lakh to the martyr's mother.
In the video of the minister's visit to the martyr's house, the martyr's mother was seen crying and telling the minister, “Don't put on the exhibition. I want my son, bring him back”.
On January 26, 2023, the minister again faced backlash during his visit to the family of the three people who had died when six houses collapsed during the excavation of the basement in Vishambhar Dayal Dharamshala. During his visit to the family where he handed over Rs 2 lakh cheque to the victim's family, Upadhyay was confronted by the bereaved family member Mukesh Sharma. “What will happen with Rs 2 lakh?” Sharma had told the minister.The minister had taken back the cheque and retorted angrily, “If you want to take the cheque, then take it. I am a different kind of leader. I send the accused to jail”.
The Higher Education Minister has also come into limelight in the fight for the post of Principal in Agra College. Former principal Anurag Shukla had made serious allegations against the minister, saying there was a threat to his life. He had also written a letter to CM Yogi Adityanath asking for police protection. After suspending Anurag Shukla on charges of financial irregularities, Dr CK Gautam was appointed the Principal. But Anurag Shukla approached the High Court, he got a stay on the order of his suspension of the administration.
Minister Yogendra Upadhyay also landed in the soup in the Jagdishpura land scandal of Agra wherein Rajkumar Chahar, the sitting MP from Fatehpur Sikri, had accused the minister's son and the builders of land grab.
