Nemi Chand Jain

Freelance

February 12, 2013, in Chhatisgarh, India

Jain's body was found the morning after he had left his home to visit a weekly market in Nama village in Sukma district, according to news reports. He had been stabbed to death.

Jain, 43, was a veteran freelance reporter, who had worked in the field for more than 20 years. He was based in Chhattisgarh state and worked for Hindi-language dailies including Hari Bhoomi, Nayi Duniya, and Dainik Bhaskar.

Police initially said they suspected that Maoists were responsible for the murder and that they had allegedly found pamphlets at the scene that said the journalist had been killed because he was a police informer. A week later, police said they had found additional pamphlets in which a local Maoist group had allegedly claimed responsibility.

News reports cited one journalist who expressed doubt about the authenticity of the pamphlets and said he suspected the role of police in the murder. A local blogger posted a report on February 19, 2013, saying that Jain had not been on good terms with local police and cited the journalist's frequent coverage of false complaints filed by local police against villagers.

Still other local journalists, including Anil Mishra, correspondent for investigative magazine Tehelka, said they believed local criminals could also be responsible for Jain's murder. A few days before his death, the reporter had exposed tin smuggling in the region, which subsequently led to a violent confrontation with the family members of the accused.

Jain is survived by his wife and mother, according to local journalists.

Motive Unconfirmed: CPJ is investigating to determine whether the death was work-related.