IJU protests assassination of Scribe

KalimNews, PR, Hyderabad/New Delhi, September 6: Thousands of journalists came out on streets across the country on Wednesday to protest against the assassination of the warrior for freedom of expression and Editor of Lankesh Patrika Gauri Lankesh in Bangalore on Tuesday night by unknown assailants following the call given by the Indian Journalists Union (IJU). She was shot dead at close range outside her house by suspected hatemongers from the communal fringe against whom she waged a relentless fight all her life.   

The journalists staged dharnas and noisy demonstrations at several state capitals including Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati, Imphal and Bangalore. They raised slogans against hate crimes and attacks on freedom of expression. They demanded that Karnataka government should mount a massive manhunt to catch the killers of Gauri Lankesh. They also demanded that the Parliament should enact Safety of Journalists Act as recommended by the Press Council of India (PCI).

In Hyderabad, the Telangana State Union of Working Journalists (TUWJ) and Hyderabad of Union of Journalists (HUJ) held a massive protest demonstration at BabuJagjivan Ram Statue at Basheerbagh to protest against the brutal murder of Gauri Lankesh on Wednesday. They demanded for immediate arrest of culprits and those who abetted such crimes. It demanded that serious measures should be takento prevent such attacks on Journalists in the future. 

Hundreds of journalists from print and electronic media participated in the demonstration. The demonstration was led by Indian Journalists Union (IJU) Secretary-General Amar Devulapalli, senior IJU leader and Editor of Mana Telangana daily K Sreenivas Reddy and K Ramachandra Murthy, Editorial Director of Sakshi. 

Earlier the Indian Journalists Union (IJU) strongly condemned the dastardly murder of Gauri Lankesh, Editor of  Lankesh Patrika on Tuesday night. In a statement issued on Tuesday late night, the President S N Sinha and Secretary- General Devulapalli Amar of the Indian Journalists Union (IJU) said the murder of Gauri Lankesh was an attack on independent journalism in the country."We hold the forces of hate responsible for the cowardly act”, they said and demanded stringent action against the culprits.