Press council to send 3-member team to J&K to assess media scenario

The Press Council of India (PCI) has set up a three-member panel to visit Jammu and Kashmir and assess the media scenario in the state in the backdrop of the killing of senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari.

The team will visit the state July 1-5 and make thorough study into the present state of press in Jammu and Kashmir by holding discussions with mediapersons and the family of the slain editor-in-chief of the daily 'Rising Kashmir', the council said in a statement.

The panel -- comprising PCI members Pravat Kumar Dash, Ashok Upadhyay and Sushma Yadav -- will also gather information related to media situation from authorities concern, a council member said.

PCI Chairman Chandramauli Kumar Prasad, who is already in Jammu and Kashmir, will meet Governor NN Vohra since the state is under the Governor's Rule, the member said.

Earlier, Prasad had condemned the killing of Bukhari, who was fatally attacked on June 14 outside his office, and directed the state government through the chief secretary, secretary (home) and the director general of police (DGP) to file a report on the facts of the case.

The PCI has also issued notice to BJP MLA Chaudhary Lal Singh who at a press conference in Jammu on June 22 reportedly warned journalists to mend their ways over their reporting of the Kathua rape-and-murder case, else they would meet Bukhari's fate.