Journalists' union condemn KJ Singh's murder, demand swift action

Earlier in the day, Singh and his 92-year-old mother were found dead at their residence.

New Delhi, Sep 23:Urging the government to track down the killers, the Indian Journalists Union on Saturday strongly condemned the killing of senior journalist K J Singh and his mother in Mohali.

Earlier in the day, Singh and his 92-year-old mother were found dead at their residence. An official spokesman of the Chief Minister's Office said while Singh's throat had been slit his mother Gurcharan Kaur was suspected to have been strangled. Expressing outrage, the journalists union also referred to murders of two more scribes earlier this month-- Gauri Lankesh in Karnataka on September 5, and Shantanu Bhowmick in Tripura on September 20.

"Three journalists killed in last three weeks in different parts of the country exposing the fragility of safety of journalists in the country," the IJU said in a statement.

Singh, who was in his sixties, was a former News Editor of the Indian Express, The Tribune and The Times of India in Chandigarh.

"We urge upon the Chief Minister of Punjab to immediately take steps to track down the killers of K J Singh and his mother to allay the fears of journalists community," the union said.

It also demanded enactment of a law at the national level for safety of the journalists. The IJU also urged the Press Council of India to take suo motu cognisance of the murder of Singh and take appropriate action.

PTI