18 January 2006
JOURNALIST MURDERED
On 6 January 2006, Prahlad Goala, a reporter who recently wrote about illegal forestry operations in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, became the first journalist murdered this year, reported the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Goala, 32, was riding a motorcycle near his home in Golaghat when he was reportedly hit by a truck, according to IFJ and RSF. When police arrived at the scene, they found that Goala had also been beaten and stabbed several times. Two suspects are currently being held for questioning.
A third, by the name of Zamman Jinnah, was arrested and later released on bail. According to the "Assam Tribune", Jinnah, a forest ranger, had issued death threats against Goala soon after articles appeared in the newspaper "Asomiya Khabar" linking Jinnah with illegal tree cutting in a local nature reserve.
CPJ is continuing to investigate the case to determine whether Goala was murdered because of his work as a journalist.
Visit these links:
- IFEX Alerts on India: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/149/
- IFJ: http://www.ifj.org/default.asp?Index=3644&Language=EN
- CPJ:
http://www.cpj.org/news/2006/asia/india10jan06na.html
- RSF: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=16135
- International Press Institute Report on India: http://www.freemedia.at/wpfr/Asia/india.htm
- UNESCO Condemns Murder: http://tinyurl.com/cdpwp
RSS