Two Indian journalists killed in hit-and-run attack

NEW DELHI: Hit-and-run attackers have killed two journalists in 24 hours in separate incidents that underlined India’s reputation as one of the most dangerous places for reporters, police said on Monday.

Police detained a former village chief in Bihar state accused of running over and killing Navin Nischal, a reporter for Dainik Bhaskar, a major Hindi-language newspaper.A television journalist, Sandeep Sharma, was mown down by a truck in the central state of Madhya Pradesh in the second attack.

Nischal and an associate Vijay Singh were on a motorcycle when they were run over in Bhojpur, about 80km from the Bihar state capital of Patna on Sunday.Police said they had detained Mohammad Harsu, a former village chief in the region, after Nischal’s brother registered a formal complaint.

“He said it was a murder as he (Nischal) had an argument with the former village head yesterday,” Bhojpur police superintendent Avkash Kumar told AFP.Kumar said a murder case had been registered against Harsu and they were also seeking his son.Media reports said Harsu and his son fled the accident scene and his sports utility vehicle was set on fire by local people.Sharma, 35, had been investigating the illegal trade in sand for a television channel.