Law Kumar Mishra
Patna, August 18
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has ordered investigation into the murder of Bimal Kumar Yadav, young journalist of Daily Jagran at Raniganj in Araria district, 300 km from here on Friday morning.
Talking to media persons here, Nitish said he had heard news about Bimal’s murder early morning and immediately instructed the officials to nab the criminals and investigate thoroughly. “It is painful for me also how a journalist has been killed,” he said.
Yadav (38) was shot dead by at least two miscreants in Prem Nagar area under Raniganj police station on Friday morning. The killers targeted Yadav from a short range and escaped from the place. Yadav was taken to a nearby hospital, but the attending doctors declared him dead. He left behind his wife, a daughter and a host of relatives
Bimal was to appear before the sessions court tomorrow to depose in the case relating to murder of his younger brother Shashi Bhushan Yadav, who was killed in 2019. Bimal was the only eye witness in the case. His younger brother was sarpanch of Balsar panchayat.
Police suspected murder of media person was also linked to killing of his younger brother. Bimal was asked by some local criminals not to appear before the court on Saturday and tried to prevent him from appearing in the court.
Two years ago, Balram Biswas, a stringer working for a Hindi daily posted at Raniganj was also shot at by the criminals.
Meanwhile, Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), the global media safety and rights body, condemns the murder of Vimal Kumar Yadav, a young scribe associated with the leading Hindi newspaper, Dainik
Jagran, in Bihar province of north India this morning and demanded a high level probe into the incident to unearth the motive behind the assassination as well as punish the perpetrators under the law.
“It’s shocking that a young reporter has been killed by armed miscreants in his own locality. Vimal Kumar Yadav becomes the 34th journalist to be killed this year till date. India has a bad name in delivering swift justice to the bereaved journo-families. We urge Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar to take personal interest to book the culprits and punish them with no impunity,” said Blaise Lempen,
president of PEC.
PEC’s south Asia representative Nava Thakuria informed that the Bihar scribe was receiving threats from some individuals as he pursued the ongoing trials of his brother’s assassination in 2019. Incidentally Yadav was a primary witness to the murder and thus he seems to be the target of those criminals, said Thakuria.
