21 November 2017: The Indian Journalists Union (IJU) strongly condemned the cold blooded murder of a senior journalist working for Syandan Patrika, a leading Bengali daily of Agartala, Sudip Datta Bhowmik by a jawan of the Tripura State Rifles at R K Nagar, a short distance from Agartala on Tuesday.

He was shot dead by a jawan outside the office of the Commandant of the 2nd Tripura State Rifles (TSR) at RK Nagar, about 20 km from Agartala. He went there to meet the Commandant after obtaining an appointment. The jawan who was on guard duty at the office accosted him and shot him dead before the reporter had the chance to tell that he had an official appointment. He was killed instantly.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Indian Journalists Union (IJU) President S N Sinha and Secretary-General Amar Devulapalli condemned the cold blooded murder of Sudip Datta Bhowmik by a jawan of an armed force. They said “he is the second journalist to be killed in the last two months in Tripura. On 20 September Santanu Bhowmik working for a local TV, Din Raat was killed by a mob while covering an agitation of the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) at Mandai in Khowai district of the state”. 

“We are very much concerned over the murder of two journalists who were discharging their journalistic duty in the last two months sending shivers down the spines of working journalists in the state. The IJU demanded that the state government should take immediate steps to instil confidence among the journalists that they are safe to discharge their duty without fear,” they said.

Sinha and Amar urged the Press Council of India to take suo motu cognizance of the murder of Sudip Datta Bhowmik and take suitable steps to bring the murders of the journalists to the book.