India: One more scribe murdered, JFA demands special protection laws

Guwahati:   Journalists’ Forum Assam (JFA), while expressing shock over the murder of another scribe in central India within a week, has urged the  Madhya Pradesh government to punish the culprits under the law. The forum also reiterated its old demand for a special protection law to safeguard the working journalists across the country.

Local media reports reveal that journalist Sunil Tiwari (35), who worked for a Gwalior-based Hindi newspaper, was beaten, stabbed and shot to death at MP’s Niwari locality on 22 July 2020 when he was returning home in the evening hours. Sunil was attacked by a group of criminals and he succumbed to serious injuries on the way to a nearby hospital.

Sunil’s family claimed that he was targeted for reporting over illogical activities of some influential persons. Few weeks back, he even expressed apprehensions in his facebook account and intimated the police about his fear, but they showed little seriousness over his complaint citing that it was his personal disputes with those individuals. Lately the police booked seven persons suspecting their
role in the murder.

“We lost journalist  Vikram Joshi (40) on 22 July after he was attacked by a group of goons in Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh). The goons shot at him in front of his two minor daughters. By now, nine suspects were arrested by the police,” said JFA president Rupam Barua and secretary Nava Thakuria, adding that the robust Indian media fraternity urgently needs the special protection law for scribes.