A missing journalist's body was recovered from a gunny bag in Bulandshahr on Monday. This was the fourth incident of a journalist being killed during the past 45 days in Uttar Pradesh. Barely two days ago, a reporter of a local Hindi daily was shot dead in Etawah - the home town of chief minister Akhilesh Yadav. Before that similar incidents were reported from Banda and Lakhimpur Kheri. A senior member of the accredited journalist association was also attacked by miscreants in Lucknow recently.
Despite chief minister Akhilesh Yadav's instructions, none of the previous three cases have been worked out by the police till date. The increasing incidents of attacks on scribes have sparked resentment across the journalist community in the state.
In the latest incident, body of Zakaullah (28), missing since August 23, 2013 was recovered from a gunny bag dumped by the roadside in Chola locality under Kotwali Dehat police station of the district. The victim was a resident of Khurja town, situated barely 20 km from Bulandshahr. The body bore multiple injury marks and it appeared that he was beaten to death. Police were clueless about the probable motive behind the murder and the assailants.
On August 23, another journalist - identified as Rakesh Sharma (50) who was a senior reporter with a national Hindi daily was shot in Etawah. The incident took place late in the evening when Sharma was on his way home after his day's work at office. His body was found by the road side in Bakewar area of Etawah.
It was later revealed that as soon as Rakesh reached home that evening he got a call on his cellphone. He immediately rushed out telling his family that he would be back soon. Initial investigations revealed that he was intercepted by unidentified assailants riding a motorcycle on Bharthana Road and was shot.. A passerby identified him and informed others in the area, and also his family. Sharma was rushed to a nearby medical facility, where doctors declared him "brought dead".
Expressing concern over the increasing attacks on journalists, the UP Accredited Journalist Assciation has asked the chief minister to look into the matter personally and as soon as possible. "This is a new trend and if allowed to continue unchecked, such incidents were sure to come as a deterrent for journalists who are exposed to multiple risks while performing their duties and investigating issues," a letter sent by the association to the chief minister says.