A journalist working for a reputed Hindi daily was shot dead on Saturday morning in Sasaram, district headquarters of Rohtas district in Bihar. The murder takes places exactly six months after another journalist with a Hindi paper was gunned down in Siwan.
According to eyewitnesses, Dharmendra Singh, 35, working for Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar, was at a tea stall outside his house in Amra Talab area in Sasaram when three motorcycle-borne men fired at him from close range. He was hit on his chest and abdomen.
He was taken to Sadar Hospital in Sasaram where doctors referred him to Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. But the journalist succumbed to his injuries on his way to Varanasi.
The incident sent shockwaves in Sasaram.
Police officials said they were investigating the incident and had launched intensive combing operation to nab the assailants. “The assailants pumped bullets from close range which resulted in death of the journalist…we’re investigating the incident from all angles and will nab the killers soon,” said senior police official Alok Ranjan.
‘Stone-crusher mafia’
Local journalists told The Hindu that Mr. Singh might have been killed by the stone-crusher mafia which has been active in the area for long in spite of the massive crackdown on their operations. “Being a journalist for over a decade, Dharmendra Singh has been writing regularly on police raids against illegal stone-crushers in the area which might not have gone down well with the powerful mafia involved in the trade,” said a local journalist.
Scribes protest
Journalists in Sasaram protested against the murder of Dharmendra Singh and demanded immediate arrest of those behind the murder. “The state government should also pay compensation of Rs. 25 lakh to his family members apart from taking action against those behind the murder,” said local journalist Ajit Kumar.
On May 13, a senior journalist working with the Hindi daily Hindustan , Rajdeo Ranjan was shot dead, allegedly by the men of Siwan strongman Mohammad Shahabuddin.