Naveen Gupta becomes fifth journalist killed in 2017

Naveen Gupta (35), a journalist of a leading Hindi daily who was shot dead by unidentified bike-borne assailants in a market in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur Rural district on Thursday, is the fifth scribe who have been assassinated this year.

The incident took place in the Bilhaur area where the assailants approached Gupta—who worked for Hindustan as its local reporter from Bilhaur—opened indiscriminate fire at him and fled before anyone could react.

“Of the five rounds fired at him, four pierced his body, including one in the head and two in the chest,” Newslaundry reported, quoting sources. The journalist was rushed to a nearby medical facility but declared dead by doctors there. Naveen is survived by his wife and two children.

This is the second killing of a journalist in the state in just over a month. In October, RSS activist and Dainik Jagran stringer Rajesh Mishra was shot dead in the state's Ghazipur district.

Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of heinous crimes such as murder and those against women in 2016, according to data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) on Thursday.

Naveen’s is the fifth scribe murder in the last few months. On November 21, Sudip Datta Bhowmik, a journalist who worked with Bengali newspaper Syandan Patrika, was killed allegedly by the bodyguard of a Tripura State Rifles commandant. In September three journalists including Gauri Lankesh in Bengaluru, KJ Singh and his mother in Mohali and Santanu Bhowmik, 28, a local journalist in West Tripura, were killed.

Police said that the motive behind the murder was not immediately known and they were trying to ascertain the reasons behind the killing. Police have detained at least six persons for questioning.

Scribes have aired their anger and anguish at the murder.

“Journalists make a fundamental contribution to society by providing information which nurtures enlightened public debate. The assassination of journalists is the ultimate form of censorship. The prosecution of such crimes is essential to deter attacks against the media,” UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay had stated two days ago, reacting to the killing of journalist Sudip Datta Bhaumik last week in Tripura. “Governments must also protect journalists.”

India ranked 136 in the World Press Freedom Index, three points down from last year, according to a study by Reporters Without Borders in April this year.

(With inputs from IANS)