(RSF/IFEX) -In a letter to Vishnu Kant Shastri, governor of the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh, RSF expressed indignation over the murder of Paritosh Pandey, a crime reporter for the Hindi-language local daily “Jansatta Express”, in Lucknow (northern India). “If this crime goes unpunished, the entire profession will feel at risk. According to his family […]
(RSF/IFEX) -In a letter to Vishnu Kant Shastri, governor of the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh, RSF expressed indignation over the murder of Paritosh Pandey, a crime reporter for the Hindi-language local daily “Jansatta Express”, in Lucknow (northern India). “If this crime goes unpunished, the entire profession will feel at risk. According to his family and colleagues, this cowardly assassination could be linked to Paritosh Pandey’s articles on organised crime in the city,” stated RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard. The organisation called on the governor to guarantee a “serious and thorough” investigation in order to establish the reasons behind the murder, and to identify and bring those responsible to justice.
According to information collected by RSF, Pandey was murdered on the evening of 14 April 2002 while watching television at his home in Lucknow (state of Uttar Pradesh). The 32-year-old journalist was shot five times at point-blank range by several individuals. He was hit in the head and died instantly. Pandey’s assassins managed to escape. His wife and daughter were not inside the house when the crime was committed.
In shock after learning of the cold-blooded murder of their colleague, a group of journalists went to the main Lucknow police station. They demanded that the police, accused of not taking the matter seriously, take swift and decisive action. A struggle took place and one journalist was injured after being hit on the head with the butt of a policeman’s pistol. The following day, Governor Vishnu Kant Shastri promised that the initial findings of the police investigation being overseen by Police Chief Inspector Harbhajan Singh would be disclosed within three days. Several police sources confirmed that the involvement of the local mafia was not to be ruled out.
