Hours after he was questioned by the police in connection with an attack on three reporters covering a raid on an illegal dance bar, a journalist was found dead near a lodge at Kashi-Mira in the neighbouring Thane district, in the early hours of Friday.
Raghavendra Dubey, working for a local weekly newspaper, was found in a pool of blood with head injuries, hours after he left for home from the Nayanagar Police Station around 4.15 am.
Earlier on Thursday night, three reporters, Sashikumar Krishnakumar Sharma, Santosh Mishra and Anil Notiyal — all working for local newspapers were attacked by the employees of a bar when they had gone to cover the police raids on the late night joint.
Quoting a complaint lodged with them by one of the injured reporters, the Nayanagar police said that three journalists were attacked by employees of the late night bar as its owner suspected that the former had tipped the police off about the “illegal” activities inside the bar.
Acting on the complaint, Dubey was reportedly called to the Nayanagar police station in the small hours of Friday ostensibly to inquire about one of the reporters who had run away from the spot after an attack on him and two fellow journalists .
Police said that Dubey left the Nayanagar police station for home around 4.15 am on a motorcycle. His body was later found on the road opposite a lodge with severe head injuries. However, his motorcycle was missing from the scene.
"We suspect Dubey might have been killed by some people were inimical towards him....We are investigating the case from all angles including possible involvement of some local politicians and goons against whom Dubey had made several complaints to the police," a senior police officer said.
Having registered two FIRs in connection with the attack and Dubey's murder under various sections IPC sections, the Mira Road police detained six persons taken into custody for questioning.
In a related development, a delegation of journalists met CM Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai on Friday and urged him to ensure that the perpetrators were booked for non-bailable and cognaizable offences.
Meanwhile, the Mumbai Press Club has expressed deep shock over the killing.