Bihar: Journalist who reported on liquor mafia shot dead

In a grizzly incident reported from Bihar’s Begusarai on May 20, a journalist was shot dead by unidentified men.

The deceased was identified as Subhash Kumar Mahto, who was shot dead near his home in the Sakho village under Bakhri police station limits. He was returning with his relatives after dinner from a friend’s who was getting married on May 20.

The assailants shot Mahto in the head and fled the scene. Following the incident, Mahto was taken to a local health center where doctors declared him dead.

“His father and other relatives moved a little farther from him. This was when, unidentified persons came and shot at him from close range,” his friend and journalist Amit Poddar was quoted as saying by The Wire.

Why was Mahto murdered?

The slain journalist was associated with a few local news papers. Mahto was also associated to a TV news channel, City News. In recent times, the journalist was reporting on the liquor mafia. A few of Mahto’s journalist friends suspect that his vocal support for a ward member in the panchayat may have resulted in the murder.

In 2018, the journalist ran a video report regarding a drunk man being let off by the police. The police alleged that the video was fake. Following the report, the general secretary of Begusarai District Journalists Association Subhash Kumar was booked under the IT act. Kumar was later granted bail from a local court.

In his statement, Bakhri Police station SHO (station house officer) said that the journalist’s death is related to an argument which took place during the wedding. A group of women were dancing at the venue when some unidentified men joined in and started misbehaving with them.

When Mahto intervened to deter the men, it led to a verbal spat which may have led to the incident.