Geneva: The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), a global media safety and rights body, has expressed deep concern over the murder of Indian journalist V. Jaganmohan Reddy, who was hacked to death on Tuesday morning while out for a walk in the Venkatagiri Kotain area of Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh.

According to local media reports, Jaganmohan (40) was attacked by a group of assailants wielding lethal weapons and died on the spot. The ABN Andhra Jyothy journalist’s body was later sent to the Palamaneru Government Hospital for post-mortem examination.

Several journalists’ organisations staged protest demonstrations at the Tirupati Press Club. The Indian Journalists Union (IJU) alleged that the attack came just days after Jaganmohan had reported on sandalwood smuggling activities in the region. The union also called for a stringent policy to ensure the safety of working journalists and to protect press freedom.

“PEC condemns the murder of the Telugu daily journalist on 28 April and urges the state government to conduct a thorough investigation into the motive behind the killing,” said Blaise Lempen, President of PEC, adding that the authorities must apprehend those responsible and bring them to justice. He further noted that Jaganmohan Reddy is the first journalist to be killed in India this year and the 26th worldwide.

PEC’s South and Southeast Asia representative, Nava Thakuria, pointed out that Chittoor is the home district of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, where the incident occurred. The slain journalist is survived by his wife and two children.

Notably, India lost six journalists to violent attacks last year, including Mukesh Chandrakar, Raghavendra Vajpayee, Sahadev Dey, Dharmendra Singh Chauhan, Naresh Kumar, and Rajeev Pratap Singh.