Attack on journalists: Is a 'mindless power' trying to bulldoze the fourth pillar?

Scribes across the world regularly face dangers from ruling powers for revealing the truth. In India too, it is no different.

For years, editors and correspondents have been allegedly targeted in various ways by persons in the government ranks or people associated with underground groups.

An international report compiled by the Committee to Protect Journalists ranks India as the deadliest nation for reporters in Asia, even more than Pakistan and Afghanistan. The killing of scribes in the country is only lower than war-torn Syria and Iraq.

The latest casualty of the profession are three young journalist — two from Bihar and one from Madhya Pradesh.

Journalist Sandeep Sharma, 35, was hit by a dumper from behind, killing him on the spot. He was going for a work assignment on Monday morning. His friends and family members have claimed that the hit and run case by a heavy vehicle was not a case of road accident.

“Sharma was murdered for investigating the nexus between police and sand mafia in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhind district,” said a local scribe.

Navin Nishchal, a correspondent of leading vernacular newspaper in Bihar and his colleague Vijay Singh were rammed by a SUV allegedly driven by the village council headman and his son at Bihar’s Bhojpur district late on Sunday.

According to family members, Nishchal was recently threatened of dire consequences by a local leader for writing against him.

In February, a journalist in Lucknow was attacked by unknown assailants with rods and sharp weapons. He was lucky to survive the attack thanks to his wife who ran with a pistol for his rescue on hearing ruckus at outside the house.

According to CPJ data, 66 journalists were killed across the globe while carrying out their duty in 2017 and in India alone five journalists were brutally murdered.

The journos who lost their lives in 2017 for doing their work were Gauri Lankesh in Bengaluru, Santanu Bhownik in Tripura, Sudip Datta in Tripura, Navin Gupta in Kanpur and Rajesh Sheoran in Haryana.

The profession has lost at least 64 brilliant journalists since 1992. The CPJ report states that the journalists who were killed had exposed corruption or government machinery and mafia nexus.