The Editors Guild of India on Wednesday strongly condemned the murder of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh and said her killing was a brutal assault on the freedom of the press.
The Editors Guild of India also demanded that the Karnataka Government acts with alacrity to bring the culprits to justice apart from instituting a judicial probe into the killing.
Expressing deep shock over the murder, the Guild said her death was an ominous portent for dissent in democracy.
It further said that Lankesh was a known critic of the Central Government on key issues and had fearlessly expressed her views in the newspaper she edited as well as in other forums.
Lankesh was shot dead on Tuesday at her residence in Bengaluru's Rajarajeshwari Naga by some unidentified assailants at around 8-8:30 p.m.
As per reports, three bullets were pumped in her body.
Lankesh's body was later shifted to the Victoria Hospital for the post-mortem.
Lankesh was the editor of the Gauri Lankesh Patrike, a tabloid described as an "anti-establishment" publication.
Following this, major protest demonstrations have been planned across India, especially in prominent parts of Karnataka.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)