Even as the police seemed clueless about the killers of senior crime reporter Jyotendra Dey here 24 hours after the incident, Maharashtra Home Minister R.R. Patil on Sunday gave strict instructions to senior police officials to crack the case as soon as possible.
Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan called an emergency meeting at his residence ‘Varsha.' The Home Minister was also present. Mr. Chavan was briefed by the senior police officials about the developments in the case. Mumbai Commissioner of Police Arup Patnaik, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Himanshu Roy, Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Rajnish Seth and other senior officials were present at the meeting.
The Mumbai Crime Branch has formed special teams to solve the case. Dey was accosted by four unidentified assailants and one of them shot Dey dead on Saturday afternoon. He was the Editor, Special Investigations, MiD Day .
The Chief Minister said that Dey's family would be given complete protection.
“All the necessary measures will be taken to protect journalists. Special police squads have been formed to arrest the culprits. Adequate security will be provided to Dey's family,” Mr. Patil told journalists after the meeting.
Police sources said that there was substantial progress in the investigation of the case, but refused to divulge any details. “We do not want the culprits to get a hint. We cannot disclose any details right now,” a senior police officer told The Hindu . The Crime Branch is investigating the case.
The post-mortem report of Dey said that five bullets were pumped into him. “There are five wound entries and four wound exits,” Tatyarao Lahane, Dean, J.J. Hospital, told The Hindu . There is a growing demand for legislation aiming at strict action against those who attack journalists.
Tourism and Public Works Department Minister Chhagan Bhujbal told reporters that such a Bill was being considered by the government. He was talking to the media after paying homage to Dey at his mother's residence.
