Steven Butler from Washington D. C. the Asia Program Coordinator of the CPJ stated, “Authorities must thoroughly investigate the killing of journalist Sandeep Sharma and determine if he was targeted because of his reporting”.
Antonio Guterres, the UN chief has conveyed his concern over the death of two journalists in India and the inherent violence against the media personnel across the world.
Expressing his concern on the matter, deputy spokesman of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Farhan Haq stated it to the reporters at a press briefing yesterday, “We, of course, are concerned about anything that would suggest the harassment or violence against journalists, anywhere in the world and… and would do so in this case”.
Haq responded to a question raised on the UN’s reaction to the death of the two Indian journalists while being on duty.
Sandeep Sharma, aged 35 years who was a local television reporter for a channel in Madhya Pradesh died after being mowed down by a truck. Sharma had had earlier stated that he feared for his life after he had conducted a sting operation on a sand mining area that was illegal.
On the other hand, Naveen Nishchal, who was a reporter for a Hindi daily, was among the two people who were killed after an SUV smashed into his bike in the district of Bhojpur. His family alleged that it was a clear case of murder and the conspiracy was backed by a former village head.
Moreover, the killings were condemned by an advocacy group called The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and demanded the Indian authorities to regulate the motto and provide justice to Sharma by punishing the ones who were responsible for his killing. As a matter of fact, Vikas Purohit, Sharma’s colleague who was the witness to the collision told the CPJ that he had rushed Sharma to the hospital but he was declared dead on arrival due to the injuries he had sustained in the ramming.
Purohit also added that both Sharma and he had started receiving death threats last year after they had published the stories on police corruption and illegal mining of sand in July and October 2017 respectively.
Furthermore, Steven Butler from Washington D. C. the Asia Program Coordinator of the CPJ stated, “Authorities must thoroughly investigate the killing of journalist Sandeep Sharma and determine if he was targeted because of his reporting”.
He further added, “This tragic incident may well be a failure of local authorities to provide adequate security to a reporter who had received death threats”.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
