JFA expresses shock at scribe’s self-killing

PR, KalimNews, 8 July 2020, Guwahati: Journalists’ Forum Assam (JFA) expresses shock at the incident of self-killing by a scribe who tested positive for Covid-19 at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi.

Hailed from Bhajanpura area of north-east Delhi, Tarun Sisodia working with Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar was admitted to the hospital with specific symptoms.

Sisodia, 37, ran out of his bed and jumped from the building in the afternoon hours of 6 July 2020. Unconfirmed reports reveal that he was under tremendous stress because of losing his job as the pandemic continues to hit the newspaper industry. Later Sisodia, who left behind his father, mother, wife, two minor daughters with others, succumbed to the injuries.

Days back, city based businessman Rantu Das, who was the printer-publisher of Asomiya Khabar, died of heart-failure on 3 July, but later he tested positive for Covid-19.  He was admitted to the hospital few weeks back with various ailments. Das, 54, left behind his wife, one son and one daughter with a host of relatives and well-wishers.

Earlier Chennai based journalist E Velmurugan, who worked as videographer in a Tamil news channel, Hyderabad based journalist Manoj Kumar, who worked for a Telugu news channel, Agra based print journalist Pankaj Kulashrestha and Kolkata based photojournalist Ronny Roy succumbed to Covid-19  complications.

Unconfirmed reports now claim that over fifty media employees working for various news channels, news papers and web channels of Guwahati, turned positive for novel corona virus. As the worrisome development has not been reported by the State’s mainstream media outlets, JFA urges the media workers to be cautious and careful in safeguarding themselves and their families.

“We reiterate our demand for mass Covid-19 screening of all media employees by the respective managements to prevent the outbreak of Covid-19,” said a statement issued by JFA president Rupam Barua and secretary Nava Thakuria adding that State chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma should support the initiative as media persons are presently playing the role of Covid-19 warriors.