Umesh Rajput

Nai Dunia

February 22, 2011, in Raipur, India

Two masked gunmen on motorcycles fatally shot Rajput, 32, a reporter with the Hindi-language daily Nai Dunia (New World), outside his residence near Raipur district in Chhattisgarh state, according to local news reports.

The motive in the attack was unclear. Rajput's family said a health worker had threatened the journalist two weeks before the shooting in relation to a story about a patient who had developed an infection, local news reports said. The reports also said police found a note near his body that contained a work-related death threat. The English-language daily Indian Express said police were skeptical of the note, saying it may have been a diversionary tactic by Maoist insurgents. Insurgent groups, government security forces, and state-supported vigilantes have clashed in recent years in the state.

Motive Unconfirmed: CPJ is investigating to determine whether the death was work-related.