Two Journalists Killed in India in 2022
Rohit Biswal.Photo Courtesy International Federation of Journalists
February 1, 2023
In 2022, 67 journalists and media workers were killed, according to the Committee For the Protection of Journalists (CPJ), a New York based civil liberties group. Among them were 13 killed in Mexico and seven in Haiti. Fifteen journalists died covering the war in Ukraine.
In India, two journalists were killed last year. On February 5, 2022, Rohit Biswal, a reporter with the Odia-language newspaper Dharitri, in the state of Odisha, was killed when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated, according to news reports. He was photographing posters put up by Maoist rebels, members of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), asking residents to boycott local elections.
The IED was allegedly placed to injure police personnel, but Biswal had arrived at that location before the police.
Several civil liberties groups, including the International Federation of Journalists and UNESCO, called on the authorities to investigate Biswal’s killing. UNESCO, which is an arm of the United Nations, promotes the safety of journalists through raising global awareness.
The Odisha government announced a financial support package of Rs 13 lakh (approximately USD 17,407) for the family of Biswal.
Dharitri editor Tathagata Satpathy did not respond to a text message from CPJ seeking comment.
Subhash Kumar Mahto. Photo Courtesy International Federation of Journalists
On May 20,2022, Subhash Kumar Mahto was fatally shot outside his home in the state of Bihar. He was a reporter with the cable station City News.
Mahto frequently posted his reporting to Public App, a smartphone-based video app, where he had over 1,300 followers. His last post, about threats received by local government officials, was viewed over 29,000 times, according to a review of his page by CPJ.
Police arrested four suspects. Police alleged that Mahto had intervened to stop Mitesh Kumar, one of the suspects, from teasing a girl at a wedding earlier that evening, Saurabh Kumar, general secretary of the local Journalists Association, told CPJ.
Kumar added that Mitesh Kumar had previously threatened Mahto over his reporting on local alcohol smuggling groups. Manufacturing and consuming alcohol is illegal in Bihar
The CPJ also reported that 363 journalists were jailed around the globe as of December 2022, including 62 in Iran, 43 in China, 42 in Myanmar and 40 in Turkey, 26 in Belarus and 21 in Egypt..Nearly half of the journalists were jailed on anti-state charges and a third on no charges.
There were seven jailed in India: Aasif Sultan, a reporter for the Kashmir Narrator; Siddique Kappan, freelance; Gautam Navlakha, freelance; Manan Dar, freelance photo-journalist; Sajad Gul, a reporter at The Kashmir Walla; Fahad Shah, the editor-in-chief of The Kashmir Walla; and Rupesh Kumar Singh, freelance.
FOR MORE UNIQUE STORIES ON INDIANS AND INDIA:
For access to stories each week email: gitimescontact@gmail.com
