Scribe shot dead in UP, third incident in four months

Chandauli (UP), October 4

A television journalist was shot dead late on Saturday night in Uttar Pradesh’s Dheena, police said on Sunday, the third such incident in the state in the past four months. 

Hemant Yadav (45) was shot by two people on a motorcycle, Superintendent of police Amit Verma said.

State police constituted three teams to investigate the killing, Verma said.

Several journalists have been attacked in the state in the recent past. Yadav’s killing comes a month after 42-year-old Sanjay Pathak, who worked part-time for a Hindi daily, bled to death after he was hit several times on the head in Bareilly district.

In June, another journalist, Jagendra Singh, was set on fire in the state. Singh’s family accused some policemen of killing him. The incident sparked a massive debate on the security of journalists and the state of law and order in UP. A minister was among six people booked in the incident. The minister was believed to have been upset by Singh’s Facebook posts, in which he accused him of being involved in illegal mining and land grabbing.

Another journalist was attacked and nearly killed in in Chitrakoot district a few months ago. The mining mafia was accused of beng involved.  A few months before that, a journalist was allegedly tied to a motorcycle and dragged a several yards on the road in Pilibhit district. — PTI