Alamgir, who worked with online news portal TNL, went missing on June 24, reportedly abducted near his residence in Jambari, around 60 kilometres from the Assam state capital Guwahati. His body was found two days later in the Kulsi River in the Boko District.
According to The Hindu, local police have not yet been able to determine the cause of death, despite finding some injury marks on the journalist’s body. The motive behind the incident remains unclear, with Alamgir’s reporting, personal enmity, and role running the customer service operations of a local Punjab National Bank branch all identified as possible reasons for his disappearance and killing. Police have confirmed that two people have been detained in relation to Alamgir’s death.
The killing has been condemned by local and national journalist representative bodies and press freedom advocates. The Journalists Union of Assam, an affiliate of the IJU, expressed ‘grave concern’ at the incident in a statement posted to social media, demanding authorities conduct an investigation into the killing and apprehend those responsible.
Impunity for crimes against journalists has continued to plague the Indian media community in 2023, with Alamgir the second journalist to be slain this year. In February, Maharashtra journalist Shashikant Warishe was killed in a hit-and-run accident by a car confirmed to be driven by a local land broker. The incident came hours after the publication of a report revealing the broker’s links to senior political figures and highlighting alleged criminal activity.
The IJU said: “IJU joins the Journalists Union of Assam in condemning the brutal murder of Abdur Rauf Alamgir, a local journalist of Goroimari, Boko, Assam by unidentified miscreants. The IJU President and former member of PCI, Geetartha Pathak, and IJU Secretary General and Vice President of IFJ, Sabina Inderjit, ask the police to investigate the killing and bring the culprit to book.”
IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: “This killing represents the increasingly unsafe environment faced by journalists in India, and the need for greater protections for journalists across the country. The IFJ strongly condemns the disappearance and death of journalist Abdur Rauf Alamgir and urges the Indian authorities to conduct a swift, transparent, and thorough investigation into the incident, ensuring that those responsible do not escape with impunity.”