US media watchdog seeks probe into killing of journalists in Bihar, Jharkhand

Washington, May 14: A US-based media watchdog today called for an investigation into the brutal killings of two journalists in Bihar and Jharkhand this week.

"While police investigations into the murders of journalists are welcome, investigations without arrests or tough prison sentences for the killers send the wrong message," Committee to Protect Journalist's Asia program senior research associate Sumit Galhotra said in a statement.

Rajdeo Ranjan, Bihar's Siwan district chief of Hindi daily "Hindustan", was shot dead last evening when he was going on his motorcycle near a fruit market.

Ranjan, 45, died on the way to hospital. His killing came less than 24 hours after Akhilesh Pratap Singh (35), a journalist of a news channel, was gunned down by unidentified men at Dewaria in Chatra district in Jharkhand.

"India's abysmal record of prosecuting those who kill journalists is fostering an increasingly dangerous climate for the media," Galhotra said.

PTI