Indian journalists protest after crime reporter killed

MUMBAI — Hundreds of journalists took to Mumbai's streets on Monday to condemn the killing of a prominent newspaper crime reporter and demand that the case be investigated by Indian federal police.Reporters carried pictures of Mid-day investigations editor Jyotirmoy Dey as they marched to the state government buildings in the south of the city, calling for those responsible to be arrested.Dey, who wrote extensively about gangland activities in the country's financial and entertainment capital, was gunned down in broad daylight near his home in a northern suburb of the city on Saturday afternoon.Four gunmen on two motorbikes shot him four times at point-blank range before speeding off. The 56-year-old was taken to hospital but was declared dead on arrival.No arrests have been made but police are now probing whether the so-called "oil mafia" was behind the killing.Dey had written a number of articles on criminal gangs who steal subsidised kerosene from tankers to dilute higher-priced petrol and undercut the market with the resulting blend."We want the case to be investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). We have no faith in the local police," one journalist, Jatin Desai, told AFP.He said about 125 journalists across the state have been threatened or assaulted in recent years, without any action being taken against the culprits.A sit-in protest has been organised for Wednesday and local media may consider approaching the Bombay High Court requesting the federal probe if the killers are still at large, Desai explained.Mid-day said on Sunday that Dey had covered crime in Mumbai for the last 22 years and was the publication's investigations editor.He had previously worked for titles including the Indian Express and the Hindustan Times -- both English-language dailies -- and was the author of two books on Mumbai's underworld. Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved. More »

Add comment

Nick
Content

Submit