Mumbai Press Club condemns murder of journalists

Condemning the murder of two journalists in Bihar and Jharkhand, the Mumbai Press Club called for speedy investigation and trial.
"We strongly condemn the killing of Rajdev Ranjan, the bureau chief a Hindi daily Hindustan in Bihar's Siwan and Akhilesh Pratap Singh, reporter for a TV channel, in Jharkhand," a release issued by the club said.
"While the antecedents of the killers and their backers are still being investigated, these tragic incidents underline the increasing attacks on the media and the growing atmosphere of intolerance being perpetrated by violent factions and those with ulterior motives," it said.
These two back-to-back incidents has come as a shock to the journalist fraternity in the country. At the time of crisis, we stand behind both the families and condemn the killing in strongest possible words and urge for speedy investigation and trial, the release said.

They demanded the governments of Bihar and Jharkhand to order a special investigation into the killing of the duo and also ensure that the culprits and their masterminds are brought to book.
On Friday evening, Ranjan was shot dead in Bihar's Siwan district. In Jharkhand's Chatra district, 35-year-old Akhilesh Pratap Singh, who worked for a local news channel, was gunned down on Thursday night.