HYDERABAD: The Indian Journalists’ Union (IJU) welcomed the recommendation of the Press Council of India (PCI) for a separate law to try cases of murder and physical attacks on working journalists in the country with provisions for stringent and deterrent punishment, speedy trial and adequate compensation to the victim’s family.
In a statement here on Friday, Indian Journalists’ Union president SN Sinha, vice-president Ambati Anjaneyulu and secretary-general Amar Devulapalli expressed serious concern over the increasing number of physical attacks on journalists in the country and slow pace of investigation and trial under the existing laws.
The IJU leaders appreciated the efforts of PCI sub-committee on safety of journalists headed by K Amarnath, a senior leader of the IJU, to gather information on journalists killed in the last 25 years and making valuable recommendations for the safety of scribes across the country.
They called upon working journalists all over the country to observe November 2 as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists as mandated by the United Nations and also appealed to all the newsrooms across the country to observe two-minute silence to pay homage to the journalists killed in harness the world over.