Man held for UP journalist's murder points finger at land broker

On Friday, Shubham Mani Tripathi, 25, a journalist in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, was shot dead. On Tuesday, the police announced that they had arrested one of the 10 accused.

According to a press note released by the Kotwali Gangaghat police station, Shahanwaaz Anjar, the accused, claimed in a statement after his arrest that Tripathi was murdered at the behest of Divya Awasthi, a land broker who was angry with the journalist for reporting about the illegal construction of a building that was subsequently demolished by the revenue department.

Tripathi was a reporter with Kampu Mail, a local newspaper published from Kanpur.

"Shubham was our district correspondent based in Unnao. He had joined the newspaper seven months ago. He used to send news regarding crime and land mafias. Recently, he had had some arguments with land grabbers and expressed fear that he might be killed by them. Divya Awasthi, a lady who deals with land businesses and is politically active, is said to be involved in the murder. A First Information Report was filed against her," Ritesh Shukla, the Unnao bureau chief of Kampu Mail, told NewsClick.

The Committee to Protect Journalists said the Uttar Pradesh police must “thoroughly and transparently investigate” Tripathi’s killing “and ensure that all responsible are brought to justice”.

About a week ago, Tripathi had hinted in a Facebook post that he could be killed.