Newspapers in Manipur will suspended publication from Thursday for an indefinite period in protest against the killing of a young trainee journalist by unidentified gunmen in state capital Imphal on Monday.
Konsam Rishikanta Singh, 22, a trainee sub-editor with the Imphal Free Press was shot dead at Langol area in Imphal West. His bullet-riddled body was recovered by the police from a deserted road at 4:30 pm on Monday. The victim's hands were tied behind, he was blind-folded and his mouth was gagged with a piece of cloth when the corpse was found.
Rishikanta is the fifth journalist to be killed in Manipur by gunmen in the past few years. No individual or group has made any claims regarding the incident so far.
The All-Manipur Working Journalists’ Union (AMWJU), after a meeting at the Manipur Press Club on Wednesday, decided to suspend publication of all daily newspapers and news bulletins of a local cable news network indefinitely from November 20 until the culprits are arrested. Journalist will also hold a daily sit-in during this period.
The meeting at the press club observed a minute’s silence as a mark of respect to the scribe. The journalists also held a protest march from the club to Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh’s office. AMWJU members in a memorandum urged the chief minister to order a judicial inquiry into the killing. Ibobi Singh assured the delegation that action would be taken to arrest the culprits.
"We support the strikes announced by the local press in protest against this cowardly murder as they could help to prevent it being left unpunished," Paris-based Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) said in a statement. "Both the Manipur state government and the federal authorities must ensure that the murder investigation has the resources it needs to establish the motive and identify those responsible."
Imphal Free Press editor Pradip Phanjoubam said Rishikanta had been expected at the newspaper for the night shift. He added that he did not think the shooting was linked to any report published in the newspaper. Rishikanta’s family said he had gone that morning to the company where he used to work to request pay that was still due to him, and never returned.
The Imphal Free Press received several mysterious calls that day asking if Rishikanta had arrived at the newspaper. A short while after receiving the calls, the Imphal Free Press learnt from other newspapers that his body had been discovered.
