Mumbai's Shame! Daylight Murder of Journalist.

Jyotirmay Dey, crime editor of a Mumbai eveninger Midday, was shot dead in broad daylight yesterday afternoon at Powai township.  Dey was returning home on his bike when four people on two motorcycles came up to him and shot five rounds of bullets into him from close range.  This brutal murder looked to be very professional and it indicates involvement of the Mumbai underworld. More specifically the oil mafia.

Apart from his regular articles Dey wrote two researched books on the underworld and recently he was writing a series on diesel adulteration in a particular locality near Mumbai for which he received threatening calls of late. An investigative journalist goes down to mafia bullets for writing his views.

Only last January an additional district collector of the Government of Maharashtra, Yashwant Sonawane was burnt alive in broad daylight for inspecting suspicious activities of petrol and diesel adulteration.

It's very disturbing. Both acts showed bold defiance of the perpetrators raising the inevitable question of a politico-mafia nexus. Mumbai has been the hotbed of gangster and underworld shootouts, but the grime never affected the creatively opinionated and artistic professionals. So, the trend is horrifying.

We condemn this brutal act and join with all in the fourth estate fraternity. The government must deliver and protect all righteous professionals from the vested interests. But we must also introspect. We should have zero tolerance against violence and terrorism, but not against  opinions and creative expressions. Legendary Painter M F Hussain died in exile on June 9, 2011. Who were responsible for throwing out such a worthy artiste of our country? If he offended many with his paintings, he should've been attacked with words only and not intolerance.

Intolerance breeds violence and violence is the mantra of  all criminals and of course, the Mafia. While demanding protection and security we must help each other too.