The IPI global network calls for full accountability for the brutal killing of Indian journalist Shashikant Warishe, whose reporting exposed illegal land grabs by a wealthy businessman with links to top government figures. We welcome reports of a swift arrest in this case and urge authorities to carry out a thorough and independent investigation to ensure all involved are brought to justice.

On February 6, Warishe published a report in the Marathi newspaper Mahanagari Times on the disputed Barsu refinery in Maharashtra’s western Konkan district. The report discussed illegal land grabs by land dealer Pandharinath Amberkar and disclosed links that connected Amberkar to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

A few hours after the report was published, Amberkar rammed his jeep into Warishe’s motorcycle on the Rajapur Highway, crushing Warishe as he continued to drive with the journalist trapped under his jeep, according to a report by the Free Speech Collective, a Mumbai-based freedom of expression advocacy group. Amberkar fled the scene. Warishe was rushed to a local hospital and then transferred to a hospital in Kolhapur in critical condition. He died on February 7.

At the time of this publication, Amberkar has been arrested and charged with murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and remanded to 14 days in police custody, according to the Free Speech Collective.

Warishe reported regularly on energy projects in Rajapur. According to local news reports, he often spoke to local villagers and environmentalists about the refinery and raised concerns in his stories about the negative impacts of the proposed project by Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd on local villages and the environment.

“The horrific killing of Shashikant Warishe by deliberately running him down in broad daylight is yet another example of how precarious and expendable journalists’ lives are in India,” Geeta Seshu, co-founder of Free Speech Collective, told IPI.  “Given the political backdrop to this murder and the nexus between the accused, Pandarinath Amberkar, and Prime Minister Modi, Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, which Warishe’s last report had alluded to, there are grave concerns about securing justice for the killed journalist.”

Journalists in India face increasing physical violence, censorship, legal harassment, and arrests, according to data collected by IPI on press freedom violations in India, as the environment for press freedom has rapidly declined since the nationalist conservative Bharatiya Janata Party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014.

“We are extremely alarmed by the horrific murder of journalist Shashikant Warishe”, IPI Director of Advocacy Amy Brouillette said. “India has the responsibility to ensure that journalists can do their jobs freely, independently, and safely. Warishe’s killing puts a spotlight on how dangerous journalism is in India today as the environment for press freedom in the country continues to deteriorate at an alarming pace. Authorities must conduct a transparent and independent investigation and bring to justice all who were involved perpetrator of this tragic killing.”