Kishore Dave was the bureau chief of a Gujarati newspaper in the town of Junagadh in Gujarat
Highlights
- Senior Gujarat reporter murdered at office in Saurashtra
- Police case does not name suspects
- Family alleges local politician's son linked to murder
A senior journalist named Kishore Dave was found dead on Monday night, lying in a pool of blood in his office in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat.
Mr Dave, who was the bureau chief of a Gujarati newspaper called 'Jai Hind' in the town of Junagadh, was stabbed repeatedly in the chest around 9 pm, while he was writing a story, said police sources. He was alone when he was attacked; there are no security cameras at the small one-room office. An office assistant found his body.
"It appears that personal enmity could be a reason behind the murder," a senior police officer said, asking not to be named.
The police case does not name any suspects, but relatives of Mr Dave, 53, allege the son of a local politician, Ratilal Suraj of the BJP, is responsible for the murder. Mr Sureja rejected the accusations, but said he did not want to comment in detail.
The journalist's family say that the politician's son, a local doctor named Bhavesh Suraj, held Mr Dave responsible after a few local papers wrote about a case of alleged sexual harassment involving him.
Mr Dave's newspaper did not report on the case. However, the journalist was arrested in October last year for allegedly defaming the doctor through WhatsApp messages and went missing for two months after getting bail.