Editors Guild demands strict action in journalist killing cases

The Editors Guild of India today demanded strict action in the recent cases of alleged killing of journalists in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, saying the culprits in these "heinous attacks" on scribes, who had exposed wrongdoings, should be brought to book speedily.

The Press Council of India (PCI) too sought reports from both the state governments in these cases, and also from the Delhi Police commissioner on the alleged assault on journalists by cops while they were covering a demonstration in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) here.

A 35-year-old journalist Sandeep Sharma, working with a television channel, was reportedly mowed down by a truck in Bhind district of Madhya Pradesh on Monday. He was involved in exposing the nexus between sand mafia and some police personnel.

In Bihar, Naveen Nishchal an Ara-based journalist, who worked for a Hindi daily, was among two persons killed when an SUV rammed into their bike in Bhojpur district with the family alleging that it was a case of murder.

The Editors Guild of India expresses its distress and concern over the death of two journalists under suspicious circumstances in the past few days, the guild said in a release.

The guild said it was concerned that journalists who exposed "wrong doings and criminal connections of the mafia with government" were being targeted.

The Guild demands that both Bihar and Madhya Pradesh governments bring speedy justice to the culprits of these heinous attacks, it said.

Referring to the JNU case, it said a young press photographer was beaten and molested in public by a senior police officer in Delhi.

These incidents confirm increase in attack on journalists. The Guild demands strict action, it said.

The National Union of Journalists (India), in a release, also strongly condemned the alleged murder the two journalists.