Guwahati: The murder accused Jamiruddin Qureshi, who escaped police custody on the way to Uttar Pradesh, has been re-arrested from Bhiwandi in Maharashtra on 19 May. Jamiruddin, who is a prime suspect in the murder of journalist Ashutosh Shrivastava in Jaunpur locality of UP, fled from the train in Khandawa railway station of Madhya Pradesh in the early hours of 16 May. The Mumbai police, who picked up Jamiruddin from Bhiwandi, traced him again in the same locality. Now Jamiruddin is brought back to UP again for necessary investigation and trials. It may be mentioned that Ashutosh Srivastava (45), a reporter with nationalist television channel Sudarshan News, was shot dead on 13 May on the outskirts of Jaunpur. Soon after the incident notorious cow smuggler Jamiruddin fled to Maharashtra. Following the tips from UP police, Jamiruddin was picked up by local police.
It may be mentioned that Ashutosh informed the police about the threats he received following a series of reports on cow slaughtering & smuggling incidents, but shockingly they paid little attention. But facing the heat of protests, they initiated to arrest Jamiruddin, who is a seasoned criminal. Ashutosh is the 46th victim among journalists killed since 1 January this year across the globe, said the Geneva-based global media safety and rights body, Press Emblem Campaign (https://pressemblem.ch/pec-news.shtml). Condemning the murder of Ashutosh, PEC president Blaise Lempen demanded a fair probe to identify and punish the perpetrators under the law of the land. He even urged UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath to take personal interest in booking the culprits. PEC has extended moral support to the local scribe’s body (Jaunpur Patrakar Sangh) in its fight for justice to Ashutosh. The agitated journalists are asking the government to offer Rs 50 lakhs to the bereaved family.
As the slaughtering of cows, which is adored by the Hindus as a holy animal, remains illegal in UP, media reports often come out on relentless conflicts between the cow traders and Hindu nationalists. Ashutosh might have become a victim of circumstance, but he deserves justice, said PEC’s south Asia representative Nava Thakuria. Monday also witnessed the fourth phase of polling under India’s general elections 2024 to form the 18th Lok Sabha and three phases are still waiting for voting, where the counting for votes will take place on 4 June (results are also expected the same day).
Indian subcontinent has reported five journo-casualties this year till date, where the trouble torn Pakistan lost three scribes (Maulana Mohammad Siddique Mengal, Jam Saghir Ahmed Lar and Tahira Nosheen Rana) and Myanmar lost one (Ko Myat Thu Tun) to assailants. Last year, Pakistan lost Imtiaz Baig, Ghulam Asghar Khand and Jan Mohammed Mahar and India witnessed the killing of Shashikant Warishe, Abdur Rauf Alamgir and Vimal Kumar Yadav. Similarly, Ashiqul Islam and Golam Rabbani Nadim lost their lives in Bangladesh, where Husein Naderi and Akmal Nazari were killed in Afghanistan
Escaped murder accused Jamiruddin Qureshi re-arrested
