ARCHIVES: Chhattisgarh
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has expressed concern at reports that journalists in Chhattisgarh were prevented from visiting the site of a major security operation against Maoist insurgents, to report on its aftermath. According to reports Wednesday in two major English-language dailies, The Hindu and The Times of India , confirmed by IFJ sources, journalists travelling to the affected sites in the district of Dantewada in the south of the state were on occasion trailed by... MORE
In a second such incident in Chhattisgarh, a journalist was shot dead by two masked gunmen in Raipur district, police said on Monday. Umesh Rajput, a reporter with Hindi daily Nai Duniya , was shot on Sunday night by the assailants outside his residence in Chura village, they said. The masked duo, then, fled on a motorcycle from the spot. Rajput was taken to a hospital by his family members and a colleague where he was declared brought dead, they said. A note, stating "Khabar chaapna band nahi... MORE
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has expressed shock at the explicit death threats made to three journalists based in the southern district of Dantewada in India's Chhattisgarh state, by a vigilante group believed to be part of a covert operation to combat a long-running Maoist insurgency. IFJ sources report that an unsigned letter issued in the name of the Adivasi Swabhimaani Manch (which loosely translates as "Forum for Advancement of the Indigenous Communities") was... MORE
A 35-year-old local journalist was shot dead by unidentified persons in the district in the wee hours Monday, police said. The incident occurred when Sushil Pathak, a journalist with Dainik Bhaskar , was returning home from work at around 0200 hours, they said. Pathak had parked his car in a nearby street and decided to walk down to his house when the assailants fired at him before fleeing, the police said. Pathak''s family was informed about the incident by another journalist, who found him... MORE
The Chhattisgarh government said Saturday that it would probe the alleged assault of a journalist by civil militia personnel and punish the guilty. The assurance came after the Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemned the Nov 15 attack on Afzal Khan, a journalist, by Salwa Judum cadres - part of the civil militia movement funded by the state. Khan is a correspondent of HindSat, Bastar region's local daily. He was allegedly assaulted and tortured by Salwa Judum... MORE
A journalist who received death threats from a pro-government militia is in danger in the central-east Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Afzal Khan, correspondent in Bhopalpatnam for the daily Hind Sat based in Jagdalpur, central India, was badly beaten and received explicit threats he would be killed. "The fight against Maoist groups has been getting out of hand,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The Chhattisgarh state government’s use of armed militia, responsible for frequent abuses, has very... MORE
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned the attacks on Hindsat journalist, Afzal Khan, in Bhopalpatnam, Chhattisgarh on November 15 by the anti-Maoist group, Salwa Judum, including public humiliation, threats against the journalist and his family, and physical assault. On November 15, at a public meeting in a high school in Bhopalpatnam, the leaders of Salwa Judum over the loudspeaker called Khan, his brother Jansatta journalist, Zar Khan, and other journalists, to the... MORE
Naxalite activities are making the Chhattisgarh government see red everywhere. Pushed on the backfoot over increased Maoist violence in the state, the government has decided one of the ways to control ultra-Left insurgency is by training its guns on the press. MINE ISN'T A RED HAND: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh after storming to power last year. Singh said in the state Assembly Friday, "There is an international conspiracy to create a red corridor from Pashupati in Nepal to Tirupati... MORE
The main Opposition Congress members staged a walk out in Chhattisgarh Assembly on the issue of alleged assault on a journalist of a local Hindi daily published from Raipur. During zero hour, leader of Opposition Mahendra Karma raised the issue of assault on the Journalist of a Hindi daily by police on Monday night. Alleging that oppression of journalists had increased during Chief Minister Raman Singh's government Karma demanded immediate discussion on the issue by bringing an adjournment... MORE
