Press Statement

IJU condemns journalist murder in Gujarat

25 Aug, 2016

The Indian Journalists Union (IJU) strongly condemned the murder of Kishore Dave, Bureau of Jai Hind, a local vernacular daily at Junagadh in Gujarat on 22^nd August night by some unidentified miscreants. He was killed while he was in midst of filing a report for his paper.

In a statement issued here on Thursday, the Indian Journalists Union (IJU) President S N Sinha, Secretary-General Amar Devulapalli, Press Council of India (PCI) members K Amarnath and Prabhat Dash paid tributes to the Kishore Dave, who sacrificed his life for the cause of freedom of the press at his desk. “He was killed because of his reports exposing unsavory deeds of some powerful politicians and their kin. The police should thoroughly investigate the case and book all those behind his murder instead of arresting some who wielded their knives to kill him, however big or well connected they might be.”

“The murder of Kishore Dave reinforces our demand for special law for the safety of journalists. We appeal to all journalists and Editors organizations to come together and mobilize public opinion for such a law so that his sacrifice does not go in vain.”

The IJU leaders urged upon the Press Council of India (PCI) Chairman Justice C K Prasad to immediately take suo motu cognizance of the case and send a sub-committee of the Council to find facts and circumstances leading the murder. They also demanded that the Gujarat government should immediately pay adequate ex-gratia to the family of the murdered journalist.