US media body seeks probe into killing of UP TV scribe

Washington, October 9

A US-based media watch body has sought thorough investigation into the death of a television journalist in Uttar Pradesh, asking the state authorities to bring perpetrators quickly to justice.

Journalist Hemant Yadav was shot dead on October 3 by motorcycle-borne gunmen in Uttar Pradesh, the third such incident in four months in the state.

"We call on authorities to step up their investigation into the killing of Hemant Yadav. Police must act quickly and decisively to investigate this case and bring his killers to justice," said Bob Dietz, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)'s Asia programme coordinator.

"Far too often, journalists' murders go unpunished in India, no matter the motive. It is time for India to address this tradition of impunity," Dietz said in a statement.

Of the 11 journalist murders CPJ has confirmed as work-related in the last 10 years in India, all have been carried out with complete impunity, a media statement said.

India ranks 14th on CPJ's 2015 Impunity Index, which spotlights countries where journalists are slain and the killers go free.

Yadav's death came after journalist Jagendra Singh was killed in June. Singh, 50, was allegedly set on fire during a police raid at his house in Uttar Pradesh and succumbed to injuries on June 8.

In another incident, a part-time reporter for a local Hindi daily Sanjay Pathak was killed by two persons in August.

CPJ is an American independent nonprofit organisation, based in New York that promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists. —PTI