Hyderabad, November 21: The Press Council of India (PCI) has appointed six member Sub-Committee to examine the larger issue of “Safety of Journalists in discharging their duties” with Mr. K Amarnath, Secretary of the Indian Journalists Union (IJU) and member of the Press Council as Convener on a representation of the Indian Journalists Union (IJU) and some others.

The other members of the Sub-committee are: Mr. Sanjay Dina Patil, MP (LS), Mr. Anil Jugal Kishore Agrawal, Mr. Arvid S Tengse, Mr. Sanjay Gupta and Dr. R I Lakshmipathi.  In a letter to the Chairman of the Press Council of India on August 11, the President S N Sinha and Secretary-General Devulapalli Amar of Indian Journalists Union requested for appointment of a Sub-committee of the Press Council of India to examine Safety and Protection of Journalists in the country and to suggest national wide special law for that purpose.

In the letter the IJU said “The Working Journalists in the country are worried over lack of their safety and protection while discharging their duties. The sense of disquiet and apprehension is heightened after the cold blooded murder of Mr. Jyothirmoy Dey, Editor, Special-Investigations, of the Mid Day daily in Mumbai on 11th June 2011. Several other incidents in the country where the journalists are at the receiving end, underline the need for urgent action by the professional and overseer-body for the freedom of the press. They are vulnerable in several parts of the country from attacks from various mafias including in the North East and Kashmir. Such situation does not augur well for the freedom of the press in the country.”

In separate but identical statements, the Indian Journalists Union (IJU) President Mr. S N Sinha, Secretary-General Devulapalli Amar and Andhra Pradesh Union of Working Journalists (APUWJ) President D Somasundar and General Secretary Y Narender Reddy expresses happiness over the appointment of a Sub-committee to go into the issue of safety of journalists in the country with IJU representative Mr. K Amarnath as Convener. They hoped that the Sub-committee would go into the whole gamut of the issue and suggest ways and means including a national for the protection of journalists in the country. PRESS NOTE