Shock and Outrage at Murder of Senior Journalist in Mumbai

June 15, 2011

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is shocked and outraged at the daylight murder of Jyotirmoy Dey, senior journalist and special investigations editor with the afternoon daily Midday, in the western Indian city of Mumbai.

Dey was shot dead on the afternoon of June 11 as he drove home on his motorcycle in the Powai suburb of Mumbai. He was reportedly trailed by four men on two motorcycles who fired a total of eight shots. Dey suffered serious injuries to his head and chest and is believed to have died on the spot.

“The IFJ urges the authorities in Mumbai to take note of the worldwide sense of shock at this murder and to deliver on their promise to bring those responsible to book without any undue delay,” IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said.

“We extend our deepest condolences to Dey’s family and his professional colleagues in this moment of dire loss.”

Dey was a veteran of the crime beat in Mumbai and recently published several exclusive reports that may have earned the ire of powerful organised crime syndicates.

On May 19, Midday published a report under Dey’s byline on a shooting incident in which the brother of a fugitive underworld don was targeted. The incident may have been the outcome of deepening rivalries between competing crime syndicates.

A few days earlier, Dey had published an investigative report on illicit trade in diesel fuel, allegedly worth more than USD 2000 million, and allegedly carried out by an organised ring with connections to the shipping industry.

“The IFJ is told that any of these reports could have provoked Dey’s murder, both as an act of revenge and as a warning to other journalists,” Park said.

“Unless there is a radical departure from the pattern of impunity that prevails for attacks on journalists in India, this incident will have a chilling effect on good investigative journalism carried out in the public interest.”

For further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +91-9810518009


For more information contact:
International Federation of Journalists
Phone: +91-9810518009
Website: www.ifj.org