Editors Guild of India ‘shocked’ at journalist’s death in Lakhimpur Kheri, demands SIT probe

Journalists’ body says there are competing versions about Raman Kashyap’s death, but it’s clear he was on assignment, so probe is needed to establish cause.

File photo of TV journalist Raman Kashyap, who died in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence | By special arrangement

New Delhi: The Editors Guild of India has released a statement, expressing its shock at the killing of journalist Raman Kashyap in the violence at Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh Sunday.

The following is the full text of the statement:

“The Editors Guild of India is shocked by the death of Raman Kashyap, a TV journalist who was reporting on Lakhimpur Kheri’s farmers protest on October 3. Kashyap was killed along with eight others, in the violence that erupted after some vehicles were driven through the protesting farmers, allegedly under the instructions of Ashish Mishra, son of union minister of state, Ajay Kumar Mishra.

There are competing versions about Kashyap’s death including a version that claims he died of bullet wounds. What is clear is that Kashyap was reporting on the events of the day when the horrific incident of the convoy running through protesting farmers happened, killing some of them. An independent inquiry is therefore needed to establish the cause of Kashyap’s death.

In what is clearly a terror attack meant to spread fear amongst the farmers, the killing of Kashyap raises many questions. The Editors Guild demands that the death of Kashyap be separately probed by a Court led special investigation team to ascertain the circumstances of his death and also attempt to recover and use the footage of his camera to build the sequence of events leading to his death.

EGI is concerned about the varying versions of the incident in different sections of the media. It is imperative for the media to report the facts and not versions.”