Northeast appears safe for scribes Northeastern part of India, which often receives media headlines for relentless troubles and violent incidents, has completed one more year with no journo-casualty. For record, the region has not reported any murder of scribes in the last three consecutive years, even though numerous cases of misbehave, assault and threatening to media persons continue pouring. The country had lost 13 working journalists to assailants in this period and already earned a bad name in the international arena.In fact, as the year 2016 passed off, India stands as one of the worst places for mainstream journalists similar to the conflict-ridden nations, like Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Libya, Mexico, Afghanistan, Burundi etc, where journalists are being deliberately attacked compelling many of them to flee for other countries. The largest democracy in the globe witnessed the killing of six journalists last year, whereas the populous country lost five and two journalists to attackers respectively in 2015 & 2014.The alienated region, which lost over 30 journalists to perpetrators in the last 25 years, witnessed the latest incident relating to journo-murder in Tripura where three Agartala based newspaper employees were stabbed together to death in 2013. The killing of Sujit Bhattacharya (proof reader), Ranjit Chowdhury (manager) and Balaram Ghosh (driver) in the office premises of Dainik Ganadoot broke as sensational news, because the Bangladesh bordering State had no recent record of journalist-murders.After a lot of hue and cry, the Tripura police arrested Sushil Choudhury, the Dainik Ganadoot proprietor and editor. He was also convicted by the west Tripura district and session court for the triple murders. But soon Choudhury received the respite from the higher court and lately the Tripura government has forwarded an appeal to the Supreme Court against his acquittal in the sensational case.Manipur and Assam, where over 30 separatist armed militant outfits are still running their disruptive activities, witnessed the previous incidents of journo-murder (Dwijamani Nanao Singh in Imphal & Raihanul Nayum in Dhubri during 2012, Anil Mazumdar in Guwahati during 2009, Konsam Rishikanta in Imphal and Jagajit Saikia in Kokrajhar during 2008 etc).Assam alone lost 15 newsmen to armed militants in the last three decades, but none has been convicted till date. http://www.arunachaltimes.in/northeast-appears-safe-for-scribes/
[FriendsofAssamNE] Northeast appears safe for scribes
Nava Thakuria [email protected] [FriendsofAssamNE] Sat, 31 Dec 2016 23:12:08 -0800
