A journalist was on Sunday (December 23) killed in police firing in Imphal West district after protests against alleged molestation of a Manipuri actress by a Naga militant turned violent. Thangjam Nanao Singh, a 29-year-old reporter of 'Prime Time' channel, received bullet wounds in his chest when police opened fire at Thangmeiband to disperse bandh supporters who torched the vehicle of Lamphel police station incharge on the second day of an indefinite strike called by a film body demanding arrest of the militant.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAqGKcI4nao
Bwizamani Singh, Indian Journalist, Shot Dead By Police During Protests Of Violence Against Women
Authorities in India are investigating the death of Bwizamani Singh, a reporter who was killed after police opened fire on a crowd of protesters on Sunday, according to the Associated Press.
Singh, who worked for the satellite-distributed Prime News channel that covers northeast India, was shot dead after police used live ammunition to disperse a crowd that had gathered in Imphal to demonstrate against the sexual assault of a local actress and other recent violence against women in India.
Five police officers were suspended following the incident, but critics are calling for more action.
"Indian officials must fully explain the circumstances of this killing, and hold all of those responsible fully accountable. It is the only way to improve the police response to such public outcries in the future," Bob Dietz, Asia program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said in a statement.
Crowds had gathered Sunday to demonstrate against the public sexual assault against actress Khangembam Momoco at a rally Dec. 18. A member of a separatist group allegedly groped the actress and shot at several other performers, the Times of India reports.
According to CPJ, the demonstration in Imphal was part of a wave of protests against sexual violence across India. Protests have raged since earlier this month when a 23-year-old female student in Delhi was gang raped for hours by several men on a bus. Shocking details of the brutal assault on the young woman have led to calls for justice and greater security for women and girls.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/26/bwizamani-singh-dead-indian-journalist_n_2365144.html?view=print&comm_ref=false
23 December 2012 Last updated at 12:53 GMT
India police 'kill journalist' at Manipur protest
Demonstrators in the capital, Delhi, have defied a protest ban and gathered for a second day of marches over the gang rape of a studentRelated Stories
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Police in north-east India have shot dead a journalist covering a protest over a sex attack on an actress.
The cameraman was "killed in police firing" when the marches in Manipur state turned violent, a police spokesman told the AFP news agency.
Meanwhile authorities in the capital, Delhi, have banned protests over the gang rape of a student, after clashes broke out on Saturday.
The rape, which has left the woman in a critical condition, has caused outrage.
As protesters gathered for a second day of marches in central Delhi despite the protest ban, anger over sex crimes also spread to Manipur, where film actress Momoko publicly spoke out about being assaulted last week.
Demonstrators took to the streets of the state's capital, Imphal, demanding the arrest of her attacker.
The journalist was shot dead after violence erupted between security forces and protesters.
Rising anger
Meanwhile riot police in Delhi have used tear gas and batons to keep demonstrators, mainly college students, from marching on President Pranab Mukherjee's palace for a second day.
Routes leading to landmark government building have been cordoned off, and some metro stations are closed, the Reuters news agency reports.
On Saturday, thousands of people took to the capital's streets, carrying placards reading "Hang the Rapists" and "Save women. Save India".
Violence erupted as demonstrators tried to break through police barricades to march on the palace.
The government has tried to halt the rising anger over the assault by announcing a series of measures intended to make Delhi safer for women.
They include more police night patrols, checks on bus drivers and their assistants and the banning of buses with tinted windows or curtains.
But the protesters say the government's pledge to seek life sentences for the attackers is not enough - many are calling for the death penalty.
The 23-year-old victim and her friend had been to watch a film when they boarded the bus in the Munirka area intending to travel to Dwarka in south-west Delhi.
Police said she was raped for nearly an hour, both she and her companion were beaten with iron rods and thrown out of the moving bus into a Delhi street.
Doctors said on Saturday that the woman remained in a critical but stable condition, but had been removed from a ventilator.
The attack has prompted a week of candle-lit vigils and demonstrations amid some soul-searching about the safety of women in Delhi and other parts of the country.
Police figures show that, in Delhi, a rape is reported on average every 18 hours and some form of sexual attack every 14 hours.
National statistics show that 228,650 of the total 256,329 violent crimes recorded in 2011 were committed against women.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-20831435
Posted: 12/26/2012 1:16 pm EST | Updated: 12/26/2012 1:16 pm EST