There were 189 cases of violence against journalists between 2014 to 2016, but the central government has no data on the number of journalists killed, the Union Ministry of Home told Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

It said that 114 persons were charged and arrested but no data is available on the number of convictions.

Police and Public Order are state subjects under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution and it is for the state governments to conduct appropriate inquiry into such matters, the Ministry said.

On October 17 this year, the Centre issued an advisory on safety of journalists to states and union territories allowing journalists/media personnel to exercise freedom of speech and expression in their professional pursuit and ensure investigations were concluded in a time-bound manner for speedy delivery of justice.

As per the data compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), in 2014 the highest number of cases registered in attacks on journalists were in Uttar Pradesh (63), followed by Bihar (22) and Madhya Pradesh (7).