The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today condemned the brutal killing of journalist Arun Narayan Dekate who died on June 10 from injuries he sustained after he was attacked with stones on his way home two days earlier.

Dekate, a rural correspondent with Marathi daily Tarun Bharat, was admitted to a hospital in Nagpur, India, immediately after the attack on June 8, but died from his injuries on June 10.

According to local reports, Dekate had recently exposed an illegal gambling racket and his recent tip-off to police about the activities of alleged gambling boss Dhampal Bhagat had resulted in several arrests.

“This brutal murder is a direct attack on the freedom of the Indian press,” IFJ president Christopher Warren said. “Sadly, another voice exposing illegalities has been silenced.”

Just hours after Dekate’s death, another journalist in India, was abducted and an attempt made on his life.

Syed Shujaat Bukhari, Kashmir-based special correspondent for Indian national newspaper The Hindu, was reportedly forced into an auto-rickshaw by two armed men, on his way home from work and was later thrown from the vehicle and shot at. Bukhari allegedly fled when his assailant’s gun jammed.

Bukhari has previously been targeted for his work as a journalist in the conflict prone region of Kashmir. He was abducted in 1995 and also attacked in 2001.

“In a single day one journalist has died from violence and another has narrowly escaped. The Indian authorities must not let these crimes go unpunished,” Warren said.

The IFJ calls for a swift and thorough investigation into these attacks.

For more information please contact IFJ Asia Pacific +61 2 9333 0919

The IFJ represents more than 500,000 journalists in over 110 countries