Dear Editor,
Press freedom is now in great danger. Just a few days after the murder of Gauri Lankesh, Shantanu Bhowmik, a Tripura based journalist was killed. Already, India has slipped 3 places from 133rd in 2016 to 136th in this year in World Press Freedom Ranking Index which is released by the International Free Speech Advocate Reporters Without Borders.
It will be a bad day for democracy if the press has to work in a reign of terror.
Unfortunately, Gauri Lankesh’s killers who dared to kill her in front of her home, are still at large. We already have a long list of such murders – Narendra Davolkar, Govind Pansare, Malleshappa Kalburgi, Jyotirmoy Dey and others. This underscores the need for speedy criminal justice delivery system for the survival of our democracy.
Yours,
Sujit De,
Kolkata