Srinagar, Jun 18: Various media bodies today held a remembrance cum solidarity meeting in New Delhi today to mourn the killig of senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari.
Media bodies including the Press Club of India, Indian Women’s Press Corps, Press Association, Editors’ Guild, SAFMA and South Asian Women in Media, IJU, FCC, NUJ, Working News Camerapersons Association, All India Urdu Editors Conference today held a remembrance cum solidarity meeting today and demanded a thorough probe into Bukhari’s killing.
“Bukhari’s senseless murder demands accountability at various levels,” a statement issued after the meeting said .
“Everyone in this country has this sovereign right to freedom of speech and expression. The increasing intolerance to such freedoms has the potential of undermining the character and nature of democracy itself,” the statement said.
“We demand that the government of Jammu and Kashmir bring the perpetrators of this dastardly crime to book at the earliest. We demand that the government institute a separate inquiry into those who had launched a malicious campaign against Shujaat. The cyber cell of the Union Home Ministry should look into all those IP addresses and their sources from where the malicious campaigns were conducted,” the statement urged.
“We feel that such killings are often preceded by hate messages and malicious campaigns on the social media. Various journalists and other civilians have been viciously trolled and targeted. All such instances ought to be monitored by a vigilant government if civilian safety and security is a priority in governance,” the statement said.
