Most journalist murders in India go unsolved. Today India ranks above pakistan in journalist murders that go unsolved. Let us hope that the recent murder of J Dey is solved and guilty are punished. He lived with constant threat to this life. Here's an instance that shows his brave streak:
"At the peak of Mumbai's underworld days of the '90s, Dawood's key man, Chhota Shakeel, had called him while he was riding his bike. Shakeel calmly told him in Bambaiya Hindi: "Tu abhi Vikhroli se ja raha hain, raincoat fold kar ke bike ke saamne rakha hain… udaa doon kya tereko? (You are at Vikhroli now, on your bike, and you've kept your raincoat folded and tucked near the bike's visor. Should I ask my men to bump you off right now?" Dey later told me that although he got cold sweat, something went "off" in his head. It was for him a rare moment of fear and anger. He told Shakeel: "Tu mera permission maang raha hain kya? Udaana hain toh udaa na, m********d. (Are you asking my permission to kill me? Why don't you go ahead and do it)."
Recently another Mid Day reporter (Akela) was beaten up because he took pictures of firearms that were provided to railway police to thwart another terrorist attack, but the weapons lay rotting in the rain.
Such fearless reporters are one in a million, the loss to our nation is irreparable.
