Journalist Rajdeo Ranjan's murder is a death threat to Bihar media
Within a week of the murder a teenager schoolboy in Gaya allegedly by the son of a local don and a JD(U) MLC over a petty issue, a senior journalist with a national Hindi daily was brazenly gunned down by unidentified assailants on May 13.
While the real motive behind the scribe's murder is not yet ascertained, local journalists hint at the fearless reporting of the deceased, Rajdeo Ranjan, exposing the jailed former RJD MP from Siwan, Shahabuddin, to be the reason behind his murder.
Silencing the media?
The local media is at the forefront in raising the issue of Aditya’s cold-blooded murder by Rocky Yadav, son of history-sheeter Bindi Yadav and Manorama Devi, the JD(U) legislator, embarrassing Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and his grand alliance partner, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad.
The killing of Ranjan, chief of bureau in Siwan of Hindustan, the sister concern of Hindustan Times, is a clear attempt to muzzle the press. The media, along with the local people, has been exposing the leaders of both the ruling partners - JD(U) and RJD – who are facing charges for most heinous of crimes - murder, kidnapping, loot, dacoity, sedition, rape, molestation and illegal confinement.
This, despite immense hardships and pressure.
The high crime graph flies in the face of the claims made by Nitish Kumar of “rule of law” in Bihar. In the last six months of the “grand alliance” government, 12 state legislators, an MP and influential leaders of JD(U), RJD and Congress were involved in heinous crimes and none of them have been punished so far.
In just two months of the alliance coming to power, 578 murders were reported in the state, including several high-profile and political killings.
In January, JD(U) MLA Sarfaraz Alam was charged with molesting a woman on board the Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express. In February, RJD MLA from Nawada, Rajballabh Yadav, was accused of raping a minor girl.
These acts are being reported fearlessly by the media in Bihar which are not just embarrassing Nitish but also adversely and severely denting his image.
This comes at a time when he is making a serious bid to become the undisputed opposition leader to challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The background of events suggests that the killing of the Siwan journalist may well be an attempt to silence the press. The media has been exposing strategies by the Bihar Police to derail the investigation in the Aditya Sachdeva murder case. They have also revealed the threats received by Aditya’s family to keep shut or else face the distinct possibility of being shot dead, like their deceased son.
Ranjan was considered to be a brave journalist taking on Shahabuddin and exposing the latter's circuit of misdeeds. Shahabuddin is presently lodged in Siwan district jail and is serving life imprisonment in connection with a double murder case, in which two brothers - Satish Raj (25) and Girish Raj (20), sons of a businessman - were abducted and killed on August 16, 2004 by being drenched in acid.
It has already been reported that Ranjan had received several threats to life from criminals in the recent past. "Almost a decade back, Ranjan had been threatened at gunpoint in Siwan," some local journalists said.
Hence, with one stroke, two purposes have been served: removal of a courageous journalist from coming in Shahabuddin's way once again and instilling a sense of fear among the persons of the press.
Is it a surprise then that Nitish is known as a chief minister who does not encourage freedom of the press? In fact, the Press Council of India (PCI), in its report in 2012-2013, had said that "free and fair journalism in Bihar was facing a similar threat to which was seen during the Emergency". It said, "The state government is using media for its own publicity and propaganda and the newspapers in the state have totally surrendered to the government for their only sources of revenue, government advertisements".
Nitish had faced a major flak from the journalists in 2011 when the then Bihar chief secretary Anup Mukherjee’s probe report on irregularities in Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA) alleged that there was an attempt to adversely affect the progress of the state through “so-called exposure by negative and irresponsible reporting”.
The journalists were also shocked at the chief secretary’s direct threat to the journalists when he wrote in the report - "effective legal actions to curb such practices."
Nitish visited Varanasi on May 13 and spoke of governance but he has not yet paid a visit to the bereaved members of Aditya’s family despite they being threatened to keep shut.
The same evening, on May 13, Ranjan was also killed. It is a clear case of return of Jungle Raj in Bihar, which will also end up making the journalists feel ever more intimidated.