Arunachal press fraternity condemns killing of Bihar journalist

Shocked by the gruesome murder of journalist Dharmendra Kumar Singh by unidentified assailants at Amra in Bihar on Saturday, the Arunachal Pradesh press fraternity condemned the incident with strongest term and urged the Bihar government to bring justice to aggrieved family members.

Singh, who was working with a prominent Hindi newspaper, was gunned down by unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants on Saturday morning, making it the second murder of a journalist in the state in the past six months.

In a joint statement issued on Sunday, the Arunachal Press Club (APC), Arunachal Pradesh Union of Working Journalists (APUWJ) and Arunachal Electronic Media Association (AEMA) expressed deep shocked at killing of fierce journalist, who take on powerful local mafias in many occasions through his writings.

The fraternity termed the incident as "cowardice attempt" to muzzle down the freedom of speech. The fraternity urged the Bihar government to come up with a mechanism to protect scribes in the state so that crusaders of freedom of speech should not be cowed down.

"The murder of the journalist reflects the law and order situation of the state, and it is duty of the welfare government of Bihar to protect the press fraternity and ensure safety to all scribes in the state," they said in a statement.

The statement further added that perpetrators should be brought to justice and should be awarded exemplary punishment, so that it sends message across.

Expressing solidarity with the media fraternity in Bihar as well as with aggrieved family, the APC, APUWJ and AEMA stated that courageous and fierce writings of late Singh would embolden and inspired working journalists across the India.