New Delhi: The Indian Journalists (IJU) joins its affiliate Shramjivi Patrakar Union Uttar Pradesh in strongly condemning the brutal killing of local correspondent of Dainik Jagran journalist, largest circulated Hindi Daily in the state and RTI activist Raghavendra Bajpai in Sitapur district on Saturday, March 8. The IJU demands adequate compensation to Bajpai’s family, exemplary punishment to the perpetrators of this heinous crime and ensure safety and security of journalists so that they can carry out their duties without fear or favour.
According to the Sitapur police, Bajpai was waylaid by the assailants on the Lucknow-Delhi National Highway in Sitapur in the afternoon and shot three times. The 35-year-old journalist had left his Maholi house on a motorcycle to meet the local tehsildar and shot around 3:15 pm on the highway. So far, the police said four officials responsible for land-related documentation and revenue collection (lekhpals) including its association president Anish Dwivedi, Ram Singh Rana, DP Singh and Prateek Gupta, as well as a retired army official who stays in Bajpai’s neighbourhood, have been taken into custody for questioning. This, after Bajpai’s family said he did news items on irregularities in paddy procurements and stamp duty evasion and the exposure was the cause of his murder.
IJU’s affiliate too has said Bajpai had published several reports exposing a land scam, where a section of revenue officers was involved. The murder was raised in Lok Sabha by SP member Anand Bhadoria on Monday claiming there no law and order in the state, that Bajpai leaves behind a wife and two young children, and his family must be given Rs 50 lakhs compensation and his wife a government job.
In a statement IJU President and former member of Press Council of India Geetartha Pathak and IJU Secretary General also Vice President of International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Sabina Inderjit said that killers of Bajpai must be brought to book with exemplary punishment. They expressed grave concern over deteriorating press freedom situation and rampant media rights’ violations in Uttar Pradesh by both state and non-state actors. The Union government must enact a safety law for journalists as well as pledge its support the IFJ convention on safety and independence of journalists and media professionals.
