New Delhi : Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday condemned the shocking murders of two journalists in Bihar and Jharkhand and called for an ‘independent investigation’ into the matter.
“I strongly condemn murder of journalists, Rajdeo Ranjan in Siwan & Akhilesh Pratap Singh in Chatra district. Independent investigation may be instituted & guilty be punished,” Jaitley said in a series of tweets.
Earlier today, the Congress called on the Centre to introspect and look into how journalists are being repeatedly attacked and murdered in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states.
Talking about instances of scribes being attacked in BJP-ruled states, Congress leader Randeep Surjewala recalled of how two journalists were murdered in 2013-14 in Chhattisgarh and also of how the state police had illegally detained people on false charges because they were raising their voice against human rights violation.
“In MP our friend and journalist of Aaj Tak Akshay Singh was killed while examining Vyapam scam but no headway has been made. Similarly, Sandeep Kothari was burned alive in Balaghat and his wife and children were similarly killed by mining mafia in Madhya Pradesh. The Prime Minister and the BJP leaders must answer,” Surjewala told ANI.
Meanwhile, two people have been detained in connection with the murder of senior journalist Rajdeo Ranjan.
Siwan Superintendent of Police told ANI that the two are being grilled to procure more details regarding the shocking murder.
Ranjan, a journalist with Hindi daily Hindustan was shot dead by criminals near the Siwan railway station.
Two bullets were fired at the Siwan bureau chief of the daily that hit on his head and neck. He was shifted to a hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.
According to police, five motorcycle-borne criminals were waiting for Ranjan, who was walking down the road to his home, and shot him twice.
The ruling party JD (U) leader Ajay Alok, told ANI that the government would nab the culprits within 48 hours. (ANI)