A journalist working with a Hindi daily was shot dead in Samastipur district of north Bihar on Tuesday evening.
Eyewitnesses said some unidentified men fired indiscriminately at Brajesh Kumar, 28, from an SUV at Salakhni village in Bibhutipur police station area, 86km from here.
The incident took place around 5.30pm when Brajesh Kumar was talking to some labourers at his brother Shyam Kishore Sharan’s brick kiln, just outside their house, the eyewitnesses added.
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Brajesh Kumar, who was hit on chest, abdomen and head, died on the spot.
He is the third journalist to be killed in the state in nine months. The murder takes place exactly 50 days after a Hindi paper scribe was gunned down at Sasaram in west Bihar. Earlier, on May 13, a senior journalist of Hindi daily Hindustan, Rajdeo Ranjan, was shot dead allegedly by the men of Siwan strongman Mohammad Shahabuddin. The case is being investigated by the CBI.
Bibhutipur station house officer (SHO) Sanjit Kumar said the brother of the slain journalist is a member of CPI-M. Prima facie, political rivalry appeared to reason behind the killing, the SHO said.
{{/usCountry}}Bibhutipur station house officer (SHO) Sanjit Kumar said the brother of the slain journalist is a member of CPI-M. Prima facie, political rivalry appeared to reason behind the killing, the SHO said.
{{/usCountry}}Police officials said they were investigating the incident and had launched an intensive combing operation to nab the assailants.
Meanwhile, journalists of Samastipur protested against the murder of Brajesh Kumar and demanded immediate arrest of culprits.