Triggering a shock wave in the media fraternity and the intellectuals of the region, senior journalist KJ Singh and his aged mother were found murdered in their residence in Mohali, adjoining Chandigarh, on Saturday.
Police said Singh was attacked by unknown assailants with a sharp-edged weapon in his house. While Singh was stabbed in the stomach and his throat was slit, his mother was strangulated.
The bodies of the victims were discovered on Saturday afternoon when the maid came to the house but no one answered the bell.
Police sources said the murder could have taken place on Saturday around 1 am. The house was found ransacked and some items were missing. The deceased journalist’s car was also taken away by assailants.
Singh, a bachelor, was Chief News Editor of The Tribune. He was earlier News Editor with the Times of India and had worked at the Indian Express also.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Police has set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the Inspector General (Crime) to probe the suspected murder, a Punjab Government spokesman said.
Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had directed State DGP Suresh Arora to set up the SIT.
The media fraternity in Punjab, Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh strongly condemned the alleged killings and sought speedy arrests.
Meanwhile, the Indian Journalists Union strongly condemned the killing of senior journalist KJ Singh and his mother and urged the State Government to track down the killers.
Politicians cutting across party lines condemned the killing and demanded the arrest of the culprits.
Expressing outrage, the journalists union also referred to murders of two more scribes earlier this month — Gauri lankesh in Karnataka on September 5, and Shantanu Bhowmick in Tripura on September 20.
“Three journalists killed in last three weeks in different parts of the country exposing the fragility of safety of journalists in the country,” the IJU said in a statement.