Murder of Rajdev Ranjan

Rajdev Ranjan
Born	ca. 1971
Died	May 13, 2016 Siwan, Bihar, India
Cause of death	Gunshot to the head between the eyes, and shot in the neck
Body discovered	near his office and Station Road in the Siwan market area
Other names	Rajdeo Ranjan
Occupation	Journalist and bureau chief
Years active	1994-2016
Employer	Hindustan Daily
Known for	frequently writing against Shahabuddin, former RJD MP, who was serving life imprisonment for the murder of two brothers
Spouse(s)	Asha Devi
Children	A son and a daughter

Rajdev Ranjanalso known as Rajdeo Ranjan, (ca. 1971 - May 13, 2016), who was a Indian journalist for the Hindustan Daily in Siwan, Bihar, India, was shot to death. His death received significant media coverage and was seen as a threat to journalism. He is known to have been writing against Mohammad Shahabuddin, a former Rashtriya Janata Dal MP, who was serving a life sentence in prison for being connected to the murder of two brothers. Five contract killers were arrested, during the same month of Ranjan's murder, on May 25, 2016.

Rajdev Ranjan was 45-year-old journalist at the time of his death. He had a law degree, in addition to his post graduate degree.

Ranjan was married to Asha Devi, a teacher, and he was murdered on May 13, 2016, the day before his wedding anniversary. He and his wife had two school-aged children, a boy and a girl. Ranjan had lived with his family at Mahadev Mission compound in Siwan. His remains were cremated.

Rajdev Ranjan started his career as a stringer from Siwan when he started at the Hindustan Daily in 1994. For over 24 years, Rajdev Ranjan had been an active journalist for the Hindu-language Hindustan Daily. As a journalist, his main focus had been reporting on politics and crime. Ranjan worked as a staff member before he was promoted to his bureau chief position, a position which he had held for about seven years until his murder. As bureau chief he was in charge of a group of six journalists. The Hindustan Daily is a branch of the Hindustan Times Media company.

Ranjan had reported against former RJD MP Mohammad Shahabuddin at least 4 times. One month before his murder, Ranjan reported on state politician Abdul Ghafoor's meeting and meal shared with imprisoned Shahabuddin inside the Siwna prison. Ranjan's name also appeared on a hit list that is claimed by Ranjan's wife to be made by Shahabuddin himself.

Rajdev Ranjan was by Siwan railway station on his way to his office from gathering news when he was murdered by attackers on bikes. Ranjan received gunshot wounds to the neck and head, both at close-range. He had first been shot between the eyes and in the neck. The shooting occurred at approximately 8 p.m. in the Siwan market area. Ranjan died later at a hospital.

...
Wikipedia