An Indian soldier shot dead a journalist following a dispute, police said on Wednesday (22), the country's third high-profile media killing in barely three months.
Sudip Dutta Bhaumik died Tuesday at a paramilitary base in the remote northeastern state of Tripura, where his editor said he was investigating allegations of financial fraud by the force.
Local police chief Abhijit Saptarshi said the soldier shot and killed Bhaumik "after they argued and scuffled over some issue" and had since been arrested.
"He was shot dead inside the office of the commander by a soldier," Saptarshi said, adding the soldier claimed Bhaumik had tried to snatch his rifle.
The editor of the newspaper that employed Bhaumik, the Bengali-language Syandan Patrika, said the reporter had gone to the headquarters of the Second Tripura State Rifles near the state capital Agartala to speak to a senior officer allegedly involved in fraud.
"The commandant called him to his office after we published four stories on his alleged role in a scam," Subal Kumar Dey said
"He then ordered his bodyguard to shoot him before firing another shot himself."
Dey said soldiers then took Bhaumik's body to a nearby area of ground, where it was later discovered, and cleaned the scene of the alleged shooting.
India's media has been hit by a series of killings this year.
One reporter was lynched by a mob on September 20 during clashes between police and warring political factions near Agartala.
His mutilated body was found the next day.
Also in September gunmen shot dead renowned journalist Gauri Lankesh in the southern city of Bangalore, amid allegations that she was targeted for her views on right-wing Hindus.
No arrests have been made in that case.
India was ranked the deadliest country in Asia for journalists by media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in 2015.
The Committee to Protect Journalists says 41 reporters have been killed in India since the early 1990s, a figure that excludes the two latest deaths in Tripura.
In April, RSF ranked India 136th of 180 countries in its world press freedom ratings.
India prime minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly voiced his commitment to press freedom, but his party has been criticised over frequent online attacks by its supporters on those who express dissenting views.
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury
BRITISH police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows.
"We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday (28).
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
"Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said.
The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival".
Prime minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury.
The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge.
A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
"I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News.
"I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said.
(Reuters)