‘Political mafia might have killed Hindustan journo for his critical reporting’

A fact-finding committee of the Press Council of India looking into the murder of the Bihar journalist Rajdeo Ranjan said he might have been killed by “political mafia” because of his critical reporting.

Bihar-based journalist Rajdeo Ranjan might have been killed by “political mafia” because of his critical reporting, a fact-finding committee of the Press Council of India (PCI) stated.

Rajdeo Ranjan was shot at while on his way home on May 13 this year. He was the bureau chief in Bihar for Hindustan, a sister publication of Hindustan Times.

In light of a spurt in criminal defamation cases against journalists, the council accepted two fact-finding reports on the deaths of Rajdeo Ranjan, Hindustan’s bureau chief in Bihar, and Akhilesh Pratap Singh, a TV journalist for Chhatra in Jharkhand.

The report, which the council accepted last week, suggested Singh might have been killed over a demand of money by a Naxalite group.

“The finding inter-alia suggested that Rajdeo Ranjan was killed by the political mafia because of his critical reportage and on the other hand, Akhilesh Pratap Singh though not perhaps had been murdered due to professional activities but may be due to demand of money by a Naxalite Group,” the council’s statement on the reports said.

The council, currently headed by Justice (retd) C K Prasad, has been concerned about the situation, and in a meeting on September 9, called for details from all states and Union territories on cases that were registered against journalists.

Meanwhile, the CBI formally filed a case in the murder of Rajdeo Ranjan on Thursday against unknown assailants at the request of the Bihar government. The case was under sections 302,120-B, 3 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 27 of the Arms Act. Ranjan was shot at while on his way home on May 13 this year.