Lakhimpur Kheri case: Editors Guild demands SIT probe on journalist's death

There are competing versions about local TV journalist Raman Kashyap's death, including a version that claims he died of bullet wounds, says Editors Guild

The Editors Guild of India on Tuesday expressed shock at the death of Raman Kashyap, a TV journalist who was reporting on Lakhimpur Kheri’s farmers' protest on October 3, and demanded an SIT probe.

Kashyap was killed along with eight others, in the violence that erupted after some vehicles were driven through the protesting farmers, allegedly under the instructions of Ashish Mishra, son of union minister of state, Ajay Mishra Teni.

"There are competing versions about Kashyap’s death including a version that claims he died of bullet wounds. What is clear is that Kashyap was reporting on the events of the day when the horrific incident of the convoy running through protesting farmers happened, killing some of them. An independent inquiry is therefore needed to establish the cause of Kashyap’s death," said Editors Guild of India.

"In what is clearly a terror attack meant to spread fear amongst the farmers, the killing of Kashyap raises many questions. The Editors Guild demands that the death of Kashyap be separately probed by a Court-led special investigation team to ascertain the circumstances of his death and also attempt to recover and use the footage of his camera to build the sequence of events leading to his death. EGI is concerned about the varying versions of the incident in different sections of the media. It is imperative for the media to report the facts and not versions," added Editors Guild of India.

Kashyap was a resident of Nighasan tehsil of the Lakhimpur Kheri district. Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Kumar Mishra’s village, Banbirpur, falls under this tehsil.

Kashyap’s family said he is survived by his wife and two children, a son and a daughter.