Janjivan Bureau / New Delhi: Media personnel here today condemning the killing of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh in Bengaluru. The 55-year-old Kannada journalist-activist, known for her left-leaning outlook and forthright views on Hindutva politics, was shot dead by unidentified assailants at her residence last night.
Paying tributes in Press Club of India, Holding placards, the journalists stating that the killing of lankesh was an an attack on press freedom. The media also demanded the arrest of the guilty as early as possible.
The killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh by gunmen outside her residence in Bengaluru “raises alarm” about the state of freedom of expression in the country, Amnesty International India said today. Silencing of scribes: Gauri Lankesh’s murder adds to the death saga.
Gauri, who was known for her strident anti-establishment views and writings against Hindu fundamentalists, was never afraid of speaking truth to power, the rights body said.
“Her assassination must be thoroughly investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice. The police must investigate whether she was killed because of her journalism,” Asmita Basu, Programmes Director at Amnesty International India, said.
Gauri, 55, was the editor of Gauri Lankesh Patrike, a Kannada weekly. She was widely regarded as an independent and outspoken journalist and activist, and a fierce critic of hardline Hindu groups in Karnataka.
“Critical journalists and activists have increasingly faced threats and attacks across India in recent years. State governments must act to protect those whose voices of dissent are being silenced,” Basu said.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has said that there have been no conviction in any of 27 cases of journalists “murdered for their work” in India since 1992, the statement said.
The protest march was organised by the Kerala Union of Working Journalists and Press club here.
At the Thiruvananthapuram Press club, journalists paid floral tributes in front of the portrait of the veteran journalist and lit candles. Later, a condolence meeting was also organised.
Protests in Karnataka over killing of Gauri Lankesh
In Bengaluru, Protests erupted across the city today condemning the “cold blooded murder” of journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh here. She was shot dead outside her house last night, sparking outrage from people of all walks of life.
Journalists took out a march from the Press Club to the Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat, and submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seeking immediate action to bring the culprits to book.
“We strongly believe that such silencing methods are an attempt of divisive forces in a democratic system to stifle the media,” the memorandum said.
Condemning the killing, Press Club of Bengaluru president Sadashiva Shenoy said he was closely associated with Gauri Lankesh and was at loss of words to condole her death.
“Divisive forces cannot muzzle the liberal voices by resorting to killing,” Shenoy said.
He said the Press Club of Bengaluru will form a committee to mount pressure on the government for a speedy investigation of the case.
“We demand that a judicial committee should be constituted headed by a sitting High Court judge to probe the brutal killing,” Shenoy said.
Freedom fighter 99-year-old H S Doreswamy led a protest at the Town Hall, where hundreds of people turned up to condole the death and express their anger against the killing of Gauri Lankesh. The body of Gauri Lankesh was kept at the Ravindra Kalakshetra here where mourners paid their last respects.
