Indian journalist Shashikant killed after protection of land dispute

NEW DELHI: Authorities within the Indian state of Maharashtra should totally examine the killing of journalist Shashikant Warishe and guarantee these accountable are dropped at justice, the Committee to Shield Journalists stated Wednesday.

At about 1 p.m. on February 6, Pandharinath Amberkar, a land-dealer who was just lately the topic of Warishe’s reporting, rammed his SUV into Warishe’s motorbike on a freeway in Maharashtra state’s Ratnagiri district, continued driving for a number of meters with the journalist trapped underneath his automotive, after which fled the scene, in keeping with information reviews and a report by the media watchdog Free Speech Collective.

Warishe, a reporter for the Marathi-language newspaper Mahanagari Occasions, was rushed to an area hospital after which transferred to a medical facility within the metropolis of Kolhapur in a comatose state; he died of his accidents on Tuesday morning, in keeping with these reviews, which stated police arrested Amberkar and are investigating him for culpable murder. CPJ was not capable of instantly discover contact data for Amberkar’s lawyer for remark.

“Indian authorities should totally examine all these concerned in killing journalist Shashikant Warishe, and guarantee they’re dropped at justice,” stated Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “The Maharashtra authorities should take steps to guard all journalists working within the state and search accountability for these attacked or killed.” In a report revealed earlier on Monday, which CPJ reviewed, Warishe alleged that Amberkar was concerned in unlawful land grabs and had threatened locals against the development of an oil refinery. CPJ emailed Dhananjay Kulkarni, the Ratnagiri district superintendent of police, however didn’t obtain any reply.

Final 12 months, journalists Subhash Kumar Mahto and Rohit Biswal had been killed in two separate incidents in India. India has featured on CPJ’s World Impunity Index—which highlights international locations with the worst data of bringing journalists’ killers to justice—yearly since CPJ began monitoring impunity information in 2008.