The New Indian Express
Last Updated : 12 Jun 2011 11:19:21 PM IST
Speculations about who killed journalist Jyotirmoy Dey in Mumbai on Saturday might not be in order but it would not be surprising if it turns out that it had a link with his profession. This is because he had a formidable reputation as an investigative reporter and authority on Mumbai’s underworld. It would be proper to hold a comment till the police are able to lay their hands on his killers. However, the manner in which he was bumped off in a posh locality raises fears of the return of the mafia raj in the metropolis, where Haji Mastans, Varadarajan Mudaliars and Dawood Ibrahims called the shots once. It is only by bringing to book all those involved in the conspiracy and killing of Dey that the Mumbai police can scotch such fears. Otherwise, India’s commercial capital will soon become a crime and terror capital and lose international credibility.
The murder is also a pointer to the threat investigative journalists generally face in the country. Very often, they are seen as adversaries of the state, though their intention is to expose corruption and, thereby, cleanse the system, rather than imperil the system of governance. But in the pursuit of their vocation, journalists become enemies of persons who enjoy money and muscle power. Therefore, they need support and protection. Over a decade ago, Kamala Saikia, a well-known journalist of Assam, was kidnapped and killed, allegedly by the Ulfa militants, but the murderers are still at large. Laws, however imperfect they may be, are now in place to protect whistle-blowers. A similar attempt to protect the interests of journalists, who face similar threats, needs to be made, for at stake is the freedom of the Press, without which democracy would lose much of its meaning and appeal
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