Igororh: Creating First Info V1!

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Creating First Info V1!

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{{short description|Indian journalist}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Sai Reddy
| honorific_suffix =
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| birth_date = ca. 1962
| birth_place =
| disappeared_date = 
| disappeared_place =
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| death_date = 6 December 2013
| death_place = Basaguda market, Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh
| death_cause = Stabbing and beating
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| occupation = Journalist
| years_active = 20 years
| employer = ''Deshbandhu'' (Hindi-language newspaper)
| organization =
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| known_for = His reporting in the Bijapur district on the conflict between Maoists and security forces
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| criminal_charges = Reddy was held by security in 1998 under the Essential Commodities Act and again in 2008 for suspected relationships with the Maoists.<ref name=john /><ref name=INJ />
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}}
'''Sai Reddy''' (ca. 1962 – 6 December 2013) was an Indian journalist for the Hindi-language newspaper ''Deshandhu''. He was murdered by the [[Communist Party of India (Maoist)|Maoists]] near a market in Basaguda, [[Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh|Bijapur district]], Chhattisgarh.<ref name=john>{{cite web|last=John |first=Joseph |title=Maoist kill journalist in Bastar |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/Maoists-kill-journalist-in-Bastar/articleshow/26966563.cms |work=The Times of India |date=6 December 2013|accessdate=15 April 2014}}</ref><ref name=greenslade>{{cite news|first=Roy |last=Greenslade |title=Indian journalist beaten and stabbed to death |newspaper=The Guardian (UK) |date=11 December 2013 |accessdate=18 April 2014 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2013/dec/11/journalist-safety-india}}</ref> Both the Maoists and police were suspicious of Reddy's allegiance to the other side. Maoists believed he was assisting police to dislodge the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)|Communist Party of India]]. The police arrested him for having close ties with the communists.<ref name=Bagchi>{{cite web|last=Suvojit |first=Bagchi |title=Maoist say journalist killing was a mistake |work=The Hindu |date=8 April 2014 |accessdate=14 April 2014 |url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-otherstates/maoists-say-journalist-killing-was-a-mistake/article5885519.ece }}</ref> Some journalists believed that Reddy was killed by other farmers.<ref name=thehoot>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehoot.org/web/home/story.php?storyid=7185&mod=1&pg=1&sectionId=6&valid=true |title=Killing reflects erosion of Maoist ideology? |publisher=Thehoot.org |date=8 December 2013 |accessdate=26 April 2014}}</ref> He had been known for playing an active role in the people's movement in Basaguda over the last few decades.<ref name=thehindudec18>{{cite web|author=Suvojit Bagchi |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/maoists-claim-responsibility-for-killing-bastar-journalist/article5474399.ece |title=Maoists claim responsibility for killing Bastar journalist |work=The Hindu |date=18 December 2013 |accessdate=26 April 2014}}</ref>

== Personal ==

Sai Reddy was born in 1962 and was from Basuguda, an area hit hard by the insurgent [[Naxalites]].<ref name=john /><ref name=dnaindia>{{cite web|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-naxals-kill-journalist-in-chhattishgarh-1930732 |title=Naxals kill journalist in Chhattishgarh |work=Daily News and Analysis |date=6 December 2013 |accessdate=26 April 2014}}</ref> Reddy was held by the security forces in 1998 under the [[Essential Commodities Act]] and again in 2008 for suspected relationships with the Maoists.<ref name=john /><ref name=INJ /> Many rural journalists supplement their incomes by selling agricultural products while also working as journalists, and Reddy also used this method to supplement his salary.<ref name=john /><ref name=thehindu>{{cite web|author=Suvojit Bagchi |url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/whose-journalism-is-it-anyway/article5624937.ece |title=Whose journalism is it anyway? |work=The Hindu |date=28 January 2014 |accessdate=26 April 2014}}</ref> His wife had a shop.<ref name=john /> He was living in [[Bijapur]] at the time he returned home.<ref name=dnaindia />

== Career ==

Sai Reddy was a rural journalist. He reported on rural topics, as well as on corruption cases. He had at least 20 years of experience and covered the conflict with the Maoists for that long.<ref name=hindustantimes>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/maoists-kill-journalist-in-chhattisgarh/article1-1159956.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131210034556/http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/maoists-kill-journalist-in-chhattisgarh/article1-1159956.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 December 2013 |title=Maoists kill journalist in Chhattisgarh |work=Hindustan Times|date=6 December 2013 |accessdate=26 April 2014}}</ref> He was known by peers and employer as independent and critical of all sides and careful to check on facts and figures while reporting.<ref name=INJ>{{cite web|title=Indian journalist murdered in Chhattisgarh state |publisher=Committee to Protect Journalists |date=10 December 2013 |accessdate=12 April 2014 |url=http://cpj.org/2013/12/indian-journalist-murdered-in-chhattisgarh-state.php}}</ref><ref name=thehoot /><ref name=dailybhaskar2>{{cite web|title=Prominent journalist, Sai Reddy, found dead in South Chhattisgarh; Maoist hand suspected |work=Daily Bhaskar |date=19 December 2013|accessdate=14 April 2014 |url=http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/MP-BHO-prominent-journalist-sai-reddy-found-dead-in-south-chhattisgarh-maoist-hand-susp-4455881-NOR.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131210090511/http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/MP-BHO-prominent-journalist-sai-reddy-found-dead-in-south-chhattisgarh-maoist-hand-susp-4455881-NOR.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 December 2013}}</ref>

Reddy's writings on the Naxal violence in the region gained him unwanted attention, and he was known to have angered the security forces, the anti-Maoist group [[Salwa Judum]], and the Maoists.<ref name=john /><ref name=thehoot /><ref name=thehindudec18 /> Tribal families in the Chhattisgarh area were subjected to violence during the insurgent conflict with the Indian authorities.<ref name=pioneer>{{cite web|title=Maoist murder scribe in full public view |work=Daily Pioneer |date=7 December 2013 |accessdate=15 April 2014 |url=http://www.dailypioneer.com/nation/maoists-murder-scribe-in-full-public-view-in-bijapur.html}}</ref> Reddy was held by security in 1998 under the Essential Commodities Act and again in 2008 for suspected relationships with the Maoists.<ref name=john /><ref name=INJ /> Around 2008, Reddy fled Chhattisgarh after his house was destroyed by fire and the police had arrested him, and returned later after apologising to the Moaists.<ref name=john /><ref name=greenslade /><ref name=RWB>{{cite web|title=Veteran journalist beaten to death in Chhattisgarh |publisher=Reporters Without Borders |date=11 December 2013 |accessdate=15 April 2014 |url=http://en.rsf.org/india-veteran-journalist-beaten-to-death-11-12-2013,45600.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140415081703/http://en.rsf.org/india-veteran-journalist-beaten-to-death-11-12-2013,45600.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 April 2014}}</ref>

== Death ==
{{Location map+|India|AlternativeMap =
| float = left
| position = left
| width = 250
|caption= Location of Basaguda in India, where Reddy was murdered shown relative to the capital New Delhi.
|alt = Basaguda is located in India.
|places=
{{Location map~ | India
|lat_deg=21 |lat_min=48 |lat_sec=37.8299 |lat_dir=N
|lon_deg=80 |lon_min=11 |lon_sec=21.1523 |lon_dir=E
|position=top
|background=#FFFFFF
|label=New Delhi
}}
{{Location map~ | India
| lat_deg = 18.791917
| lon_deg = 80.813348
|position=bottom
|background=#FFFFFF
|label=Basaguda
}}
}}Sai Reddy was murdered by 4 or more men after leaving the market in Basguda on 6 December 2013. The cause of death was from head and neck injuries that were caused by stabbing and beating. The attack occurred during the afternoon in front of witnesses.<ref name=john /><ref name=dnaindia /><ref name=RWB /><ref name=economictimes>{{cite web|author=Aman Sharma |url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-12-21/news/45444276_1_naxals-informer-chhattisgarh-police |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231214040/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-12-21/news/45444276_1_naxals-informer-chhattisgarh-police |url-status=dead |archive-date=31 December 2013 |title=Binayak Sen condemns; Sai Reddy not informer: DGP |work=The Economic Times |date=21 December 2013 |accessdate=26 April 2014}}</ref><ref name=ndtv>{{cite web|url=http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/suspected-maoists-armed-with-weapons-kill-mediaperson-in-chhattisgarh-market-455581 |title=Suspected Maoists, armed with weapons, kill mediaperson in Chhattisgarh market |publisher=NDTV.com |date=7 December 2013 |accessdate=26 April 2014}}</ref><ref name=cpj>{{cite web|url=http://cpj.org/killed/2013/sai-reddy.php |title=Sai Reddy – Journalists Killed |publisher=Committee to Protect Journalists |date=6 December 2013 |accessdate=26 April 2014}}</ref> The attackers used sharp-edged weapons on Reddy when they attacked him, and he died en route to the hospital.<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|date=6 December 2013|title=Sai Reddy|url=http://ifj-safety.org/en/contents/india/contents/sai-reddy|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303210448/http://ifj-safety.org/en/contents/india/contents/sai-reddy|archive-date=2016-03-03|accessdate=15 April 2014|website=|publisher=Safety of Journalists/IFJ}}</ref> Reddy had been receiving threats from the Maoists for some time. The Maoists officially took responsibility more than a month after the Reddy's murder.<ref name=thehindudec18 /> His troubles with the Maoists went back as far as 2008 when they torched his house.<ref name=john /><ref name=greenslade />

== Context ==
By the time Maoists killed Sai Reddy, over 1500 civilians in the area had been killed by the armed political group.<ref name=economictimes />

Sai Reddy was one of at least eight Indian journalists who were killed during 2013.<ref name=john /><ref name=RWB /> The level of violence against journalists in 2013 in India surpassed the previous high level of violence reached in 1997 when seven were killed.<ref name=RWB /> Nemi Chand Jain was also killed in Chhattisgarh in February 2013.<ref name=greenslade /><ref name=thehoot /><ref name=jfa /> According to news reports, Jain was killed by the Maoists and the group confirmed it, which makes Reddy the second journalist killed by the Maoist in 2013.<ref name=dnaindia /><ref name=ndtv /><ref name=thehindudec6>{{cite web|author=Suvojit Bagchi |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/prominent-journalist-killed-in-south-chhattisgarh/article5430109.ece |title=Prominent journalist killed in south Chhattisgarh |work=The Hindu |date=6 December 2013 |accessdate=26 April 2014}}</ref><ref name=financialexpress /> He was one of 70 journalists killed worldwide in 2013.<ref name=wanifra>{{cite web |author=Wan-Ifra |url=http://www.wan-ifra.org/articles/2013/01/30/70-media-employees-killed-in-2013 |title=70 Media Employees Killed in 2013 |publisher=Wan-Ifra |accessdate=26 April 2014 |archive-date=29 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429200613/http://www.wan-ifra.org/articles/2013/01/30/70-media-employees-killed-in-2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Forbidden Stories]] named Sai Reddy as 1 of 13 reporters investigating environmental issues that were killed between 2009 and 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-06-17|title=Green Blood|url=https://forbiddenstories.org/green-blood-trailer-2/|access-date=2020-12-05|website=[[Forbidden Stories]]}}</ref>

== Reaction ==
Within 45 days of Reddy's murder, the Maoists not only took responsibility for his murder but said they were mistaken about his working for the police.<ref name=john /><ref name=Bagchi />

After his killing outside the market in front of eyewitnesses, police suspected Maoists and that was confirmed by a press release released after the attack.<ref name=financialexpress>{{cite web |url=http://www.financialexpress.com/news/maoists-claim-they-killed-journalist/1209336 |title=Maoists claim they killed journalist |work=The Financial Express |date=19 December 2013 |accessdate=26 April 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813192753/http://www.financialexpress.com/news/maoists-claim-they-killed-journalist/1209336 |archivedate=13 August 2014 }}</ref> Journalists in Basaguda marched through the lands of the Maoists over a three-day period to protest his death and out of concern for their own safety.<ref name=indiaexpress>{{cite news|title=C'garh scribes march through Maoist stronghold to protest Reddy's killing |newspaper=India Express |date=27 January 2014 |accessdate= 18 April 2014 |url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/cgarh-scribes-march-through-maoist-stronghold-to-protest-reddys-killing/}}</ref>

The Indian Journalists Union called for arrests.<ref name=thehindudec10>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/iju-condemns-killing-of-journalist/article5442772.ece |title=IJU condemns killing of journalist |work=The Hindu |date=10 December 2013 |accessdate=26 April 2014}}</ref> The president and secretary of Journalists' Forum Assam (JFA) called Reddy's murderers "cowards" and threw their support behind the journalists of the Chattishgrah who demonstrating against Reddy's murder. The JFA, which has also experienced problems in Assam supported the principle of neutrality of journalists between political and security forces<ref name=jfa>{{cite news|title=JFA condemns killing of Chhattisgarh journalist Sai Reddy |newspaper=Assam Times |date=12 December 2013 |accessdate=18 April 2014 |url=http://www.assamtimes.org/node/9131}}</ref>

[[Irina Bokova]], the director general of [[UNESCO]], also responded to Reddy's murder, "I urge the authorities to investigate this crime. Violence against media workers undermines the ability of journalists to carry out their work freely as well as the right of citizens to receive the independent information they need."<ref name=unesco>{{cite web|author=Source: Unescopress |url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/director_general_condemns_the_killing_of_journalist_sai_reddy_in_indias_bastar_region/ |title=Director-General condemns the killing of journalist Sai Reddy in India's Bastar region | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization |publisher=UNESCO |date=18 December 2013 |accessdate=18 April 2014}}</ref>

The Committee to Protect Journalists requested that India investigate his murder and a spokesperson said, "Journalists in Chhattisgarh have become targets in the conflict between the Indian state and the Maoists for simply reporting the realities on the ground."<ref name=greenslade />

==See also==
* [[List of journalists killed in India]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==

* [https://cpj.org/data/people/sai-reddy/ Sai Reddy] at the [[Committee to Protect Journalists]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reddy, Sai}}
[[Category:1962 births]]
[[Category:2013 deaths]]
[[Category:Deaths by stabbing in India]]
[[Category:Indian newspaper journalists]]
[[Category:Journalists killed in India]]
[[Category:People from Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh]]
[[Category:Journalists from Chhattisgarh]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian journalists]]

Sai Reddy - Revision history

Igororh: Creating First Info V1!