Another Journalist shot dead in Chhattisgarh

Throwing letter,written in red ink,is being seen as an attempt to mislead the police and pass it off as a case involving the Naxalites,who have stepped up their activities in the forest areas of Gariaband,an area bordering neighbouring Orissa.

His family members said the journalist had lodged a complaint with the police about a fortnight ago about the threats received by him following publication of a news item. However,Churra police station in-charge P L Uike said they were probing all angles,including this aspect.

This is the second case of murder of Journalist in Chhattisgarh after Sushil Pathak,a journalist in Bilaspur city,was shot dead by unidentified persons while he was returning home after a late night shift on December 20.

Initially,the police detained few persons on suspicion but the case did not move forward as the police was still groping in dark about the motive and the killers.

A delegation of prominent citizens and journalists from Bilaspur had met Chief Minister Raman Singh and requested to handover the investigations to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and to provide a job to Sushil Pathak’s wife. Singh had agreed to both the demands and steps are being taken to refer the investigations to the CBI,an official spokesman said.

Expressing concern over the incidents of murder of journalists,Naidunia Editor Ravi Bhoi said Rajput had received threats after he reported about a patient developing infection after undergoing an operation at an eye camp. He said it would be prudent if the state government handover both the cases of murder of journalists to the CBI at the earliest.