CPJ is expressing its deep dismay over the brutal murder of Shivani Bhatnagar, special correspondent for the prestigious English-language daily newspaper “The Indian Expressâ€.
On 23 January 1999, unknown assailants entered Bhatnagar’s East Delhi apartment, strangled her with a length of wire, and then stabbed her in the neck and abdomen with kitchen knives. Bhatnagar had been at home alone with her three-month old son, Tanmay, who was not harmed. The post-mortem report, prepared at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, concluded that Bhatnagar died from strangulation, and police estimated that she was killed at 3:30 in the afternoon (local time).
Police said that shortly before 3:30 p.m., she had telephoned her husband, Rakesh Bhatnagar, legal editor for the English-language daily “Times of Indiaâ€, telling him that two men had stopped by to deliver an invitation to a wedding in Chandigarh (a city located just 160 miles north of Delhi). Police said that there were no signs of forced entry, and that the drawing room table had been laid with snacks as if Bhatnagar was entertaining guests.
Bhatnagar was a member of the special investigations team at the “Indian Expressâ€, and news reports speculated that her killers may have been attempting to recover certain incriminating documents. Two rooms in the Bhatnagars’ residence - at the Nav Kunj Apartments in Patparganj - had apparently been ransacked, but police have already stated that robbery did not appear to be a motive in this crime.
