UN chief Antonio Guterres has expressed concern over the deaths of two journalists in India and violenece against the journalists across the globe.
“We, of course, are concerned about anything that would suggest the harassment or violence against journalists, anywhere in the world and would do so in this case,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’s deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told.
Sandeep Sharma, 35, a reporter for a local television channel in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhind district, died after he was hit down by a truck. Sharma had complained about threats to his life after he carried out a sting operation on illegal sand mining.
In Bihar, Naveen Nishchal, a journalist who worked for a Hindi daily, was among two persons killed when an SUV rammed into their bike in Bhojpur district, with the family strongly expressing that it was a case of murder and that a former village head was behind it.
Advocacy group The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned the killings, and called on the Indian authorities to determine the motive and bring convicts to justice for Sharma’s death.
Read More: Journalist killed in Bihar, alleged it is a conspiracy
Sharma’s colleague Vikas Purohit, who witnessed the collision, told that he took Sharma to the local hospital where the journalist was declared dead from wounds sustained in the crash.
“Authorities must thoroughly investigate the killing of journalist Sandeep Sharma and determine if he was targeted because of his reporting,” said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Steven Butler from Washington D.C.
“This tragic incident may well be a failure of local authorities to provide adequate security to a reporter who had received death threats,” he said.
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