Hundreds of journalists gather at PCI n hold candle march to condole the murder of DD cameraman Achyutanand Sahu today

There was a collective and a unified voice against the Maoist terror in the country especially againt the the journalists in the line of duty covering the plight of the adivasies and the poor people in the naxal infested areas and becoming the victims of their onslaughts.

A condolense meeting was held today in the Press Club of India, Raisina Road demanding the murderors to be brought to due justice and granting of adequate compensation to the family of the deceased in the Maoist attacks and gurantee for non accurance of these tortuous deaths. Members and office bearers of various media organisations, senior journalists including the colleagues of late Achyutanand Sahu under the ages of Press Club of India addressed the audience and demanded security and safeguards for the journalists on duty in the naxal infested areas and terror stricken locations including granting them a hefty insurance cover and gurantee from the owners and proprietors from the private media houses to not only adequately compensate those journalists who die in their line of duty but also to grant job to the next of the kin in their respective media or state government departments.

Prominent amongst those who spoke on the ocassion were the president of the Press Club of India Gautam Lahiri, the general secretary of the PCI Vinay Kumar, reporter of Doordarshan on the spot at Chattisgarh Dheeraj, Ashok Srivastav, Anchor and News reader Doordarshan, Sr. journalist Rahul Jallali, Vinod sr journalist, Doordarshan, Sudhandhu of Doordarshan, Mr. Sanyal, Sr photo editor formerly with Hindustan Times S. N. Sinha and several other journalists.

The furious and badly angered journalists kept a silence for two minutes in honour of the slain cameraman of Doordarshan Achyuta Nand and expressed their antagonism against the increasing onslaughts and murders of the journalists all over the country.

In the meanwhile the union government has sanctioned the financial compensation of Rs. 15 lakhs for the bereaved family of the deceased photo journalist of Doordarshan.

The Odisa government has also sactioned Rs. five lakhs to the bereaved family including a government job in the state government to the wife of late cameraman cum journalist Achyutanand.

The entire Doordarshan staff of Delhi and in other parts of the country have also pledged to donate one day salary in aid to the bereaved family of the slain cameraman of Doordarshan in Chattisgarh.

After the condolense meeting at the PCI hundreds of journalists of the print and the electronics media marched in protest from the Press Club of India premises to India Gate holding candles and playcards denouncing the Maoists in strongest possible terms.