On November 12, at around six in the morning, journalist Dharmendra Singh was at a tea stall in Amra Talab, not far from Sasaram in Bihar. Three men showed up on bikes. What followed sounds almost filmi in its dramatic violence and heroism. “It is not yet confirmed, but according to those present on the spot, Dharmendra  tried to capture his attackers,” Station House Officer (SHO) of Sasaram Mufassil station, Dinanath Kumar told Newslaundry. Unlike most cinematic potboilers of this genre, however, the hero in this one died.  

Singh is the second journalist to be murdered in Bihar in the past six months. In May, the Hindustan’s bureau-chief Rajdev Ranjan was shot dead in Siwan. His family pointed fingers at former MP Mohammad Shahabuddin, who happens to be serving time in Siwan jail. Like in Ranjan’s case, the prime suspect in Singh’s death is also behind bars. Both police and Singh’s family are convinced Pappu Singh – described as “stone-crusher don” and currently in Sasaram Jail – ordered the hit on Singh. The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Sasaram is demanding a compensation of Rs 25 lakh and a job for Singh’s wife. It is also asking the Bihar government to introduce a law to protect journalists.

Singh’s brother-in-law Ravindra Singh, 45, was with him on the morning of November 12. “My brother-in-law was a good football player and used to exercise every morning,” Ravindra told Newslaundry. “As we were returning that day, Vikash stopped us, and said, ‘Dharmendra bhaiya aaj special chai  piyenge (we’ll drink special chai today).” Vikash is an acquaintance of Singh’s who has since been arrested. While the men were waiting for tea, three people men on motorcycles came and fired at Singh. “One of the assailants hit me on the head with the butt of the pistol,” said Ravindra.

The fatally-injured Singh was referred by the local hospital to another in Varanasi. He didn’t survive that journey. But before he died, Singh not only identified the attackers but, according to Ravindra, told him that Pappu Singh had ordered a hit on Singh for Rs 5 lakhs. Five of the seven accused were named by Singh. Of them, four have been arrested and one of them, Amod Singh, is known for being a supari killer, or hitman. Mukesh Shrivastva, the investigating officer, told Newslaundry, “Though we have not found the weapon used in the attack, according to the post-mortem report it can be said that the rounds were fired from a desi katta (country-made pistol).” Sujit Singh, who is believed to have actually shot Singh, is still on the run.

Singh’s family believe he was killed because of his work as a journalist. “Wo sabke khilaf likhte the (He wrote against everyone),” his wife Rinku Kumar, 35, told Newslaundry. Sasaram in Bihar is infamous for the crimes surrounding illegal mining, which is an industry worth hundreds of crores. Singh started his career with the regional Hindi daily Prabhat Khabar and later covered illegal mining as a ‘beat’ for Dainik Bhaskar. He was not on the company rolls and according to Narendra Singh, who is in charge of Dainik Bhaskar’s Sasaram bureau, the only reason Singh worked as a journalist was the “respect that this profession earned for him”. The money earned by freelancers like Singh is pittance and usually doesn’t cover a family’s expenses.

Singh’s wife told Newslaundry that her husband had regularly helped the police on cases involving illegal mining.“Yahaan gaadi paas ho raha hai, wahan gaadi paas ho raha, wo phone par hi batate the (He would tell the police on the phone that this vehicle is going through here, that vehicle is going through there).” She said that Singh had told the police that he’d been sent death threats, but neither did they take it seriously nor did they protect him.  

The police initially not only distanced itself from Singh, but also earned criticism when a day after the murder, Rohtas Superintendent of Police MS Dhillon issued a statement in which he described Singh as a person with the criminal background. Bhaskar’s Narendra Singh said that Dhillon was initially not ready to identify the murdered man as a journalist. The speculation among local media is that Dhillon was trying to make sure Singh’s death didn’t become a high-profile case. When Newslaundry contacted Dhillon, he declined to comment on the case.

“Generally, rural reporters are the most vulnerable as they don’t have their organisations’ backing,” said Narendra. “But in this case, [Dainik] Bhaskar took the onus and said that he was our reporter.” Journalists from neighbouring districts have been protesting against Singh’s murder and even if he wasn’t formally on any newspaper’s rolls, in death Singh is very much part of the fraternity.

Regardless of Dhillon’s attitude, the local police’s attitude has been far more supportive. Deputy inspector general (Shahabad range) MD Rahman – who visited the slain journalist’s home to give his condolences to the family – said the police didn’t doubt Dharmendra’s credentials. Shrivastva said Singh had helped the police with tip-offs related to different cases. “Aap samjh lo unke sharir par bas vardi nahi thi (The only thing missing was a policeman’s uniform),” said Shrivastva of Singh.  

Perhaps one reason Dhillon had raised questions about Singh’s ‘criminal’ connections is that Pappu and Dharmendra Singh were friends until a few years ago. Singh’s nephew Golu Singh said the two had a fallout because of Pappu’s activities. “My uncle had asked him to not indulge in illegal activities,” Golu told Newslaundry. “Pappu Singh held my uncle responsible for his arrest in the kidnapping case [that has sent him to jail].”

According to the police, Pappu used to run a gang involved activities such as murder, kidnapping, extortion as well as illegal mining. “Every time Pappu Singh was arrested he used to blame Dharmendra for this,” said SHO Dinanath Kumar. The police are convinced that it is the animosity of this broken friendship – and not Singh’s journalistic work – that led to him being shot in broad daylight. At the moment, Shrivastva is waiting to interrogate Pappu.

Meanwhile, Singh’s wife, two sons and daughter are living in fear with his elder brother’s family. They say they’ve been given no security from the police. When asked about this, Shrivastva told Newslaundry, “The family has not asked for any security and we anyway keep an eye on their house during our regular patrolling in the night.” 

For Narendra, who is district president of NUJ, Singh’s murder is a body blow to journalism in Bihar. He’s unconvinced by the police’s theory that Singh died because of a friendship that had turned sour. It’s also worth keeping in mind that even helping the police didn’t help Singh – when the criminal elements he’d angered decided they wanted him out of the picture, the police couldn’t do much. Narendra described Singh as a rural journalist who brought reports with almost no incentive. “An attack on such journalists will weaken the voices that they bring from our villages,” he said.

The author can be contacted on Twitter @amit_bhardwaz