One held in Odisha for journo's murder

A man was detained in Odisha for the murder of a journalist in Ganjam district three days ago, police said Friday.

"The detained man is possibly a suspect. We are questioning him," District Superintendent of Police Anirudha Singh told IANS.

Unidentified men stabbed 35-year-old Tarun Kumar Acharya with sharp-edged weapons in a lonely place when he was riding a motorcycle on his way to home at Bikrampur from Khallikote town, about 135 km from here.

Acharya was a stringer of a local television channel and a reporter of a local news paper.

Anirudha Singh said a family feud might have led to his murder and Acharya's own brother and two others were believed to be behind the crime.

The incident has nothing to do with journalism, he said. Police have formed two teams and they are conducting raids to nab the assailants, said Anirudha Singh.

The murder was condemned by the opposition parties and journalist associations in the state.

The state government should order a CBI probe and pay compensation of Rs.50 lakh to Acharya's family, the Odisha Union of Journalists said in a statement.

Bharatiya Janata Party state spokesperson Sajjan Sharma said the murder has showed that there is no law and order in the state. "We demand that police should immediately arrest assailants," Sharma said.

Hundred of activists of the Communist Party of India-Marxist staged a demonstration in Bhubaneswar Thursday to protest the journalist's murder.