The Press Council of India (PCI) has sought detailed information on the progress in the investigation into the murder of journalist Shantanu Bhowmik of ‘Din Raat’ channel and journalist Sudip Dutta-Bhowmik of ‘Syandan Patrika’ in 2017.
A letter has been written to the Chief Secretary of Tripura J.K. Sinha, by PCI and copies of which have been sent to the Home Secretary and the DGP, seeking a reply to the letter.
The letter mentions that the PCI had passed an adjudication order in the matter on November 15, 2018.
The PCI had intervened in the matter following a complaint letter filed by senior journalist Prashanta Chakraborty, secretary of the Tripura Union of Working Journalists (TUWJ), affiliated to the National Union of Journalists (NUJ).
After the killing of two journalists Shantanu Bhowmik and Sudip Dutta-Bhowmik, the then Left Front-led state government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the matter and file a charge sheet, which was duly completed by the SIT.
In the meantime in 2018 the government changed and BJP came to power. Following the demand of a CBI inquiry by a section of journalists, the BJP government handed over the investigation of the matter to the CBI.
But the CBI messed up the investigation and the case is still in cold storage.
Expressing concern over the issue, Prashanta Chakraborty, secretary of the Tripura Union of Working Journalists, sought the intervention of the Press Council of India.
The PCI responded positively to the petition made by Prashanta Chakraborty by writing a letter to the Chief Secretary on this issue with a copy to the Home Secretary and DGP.
