Mohammed Muslimuddin

A series of coordinated terrorist attacks that struck more than a dozen locations in the commercial capital, Mumbai, killing more than 170 and wounding hundreds, shocked the world and punctuated a year of growing tension and risk. Witnesses became journalists as they Twittered up to 100 messages a minute, posted photos to Flickr, and transmitted cell-phone video to television networks, all of which provided a hectic yet compelling real-time account of the horrific three-day siege in late November. The instantaneous spread of information on the assault—which hit two lavish hotels, a top restaurant, a rail station, a Jewish center, and a hospital, among other sites—illustrated as much as any recent event the extraordinary revolution in media and communication.

About six assailants armed with "sharp weapons" attacked Mohammed Muslimuddin, a correspondent with the vernacular daily Asomiya Pratidin, near his residence in the village of Barpukhuri in central Assam state, according to local news reports. He died of multiple injuries to the head, chest, stomach, and back en route to a hospital in the capital, Guwahati, the reports said.

News reports quoting senior editors at his newspaper said Muslimuddin was targeted for writing about criminal activities, including the illegal drug trade, in the weeks leading up to his murder. His reporting implicated local influential figures and politicians, according to news reports. Local journalists told CPJ that they staged protests throughout the state to call attention to the murder. Three individuals were arrested on April 4 in connection with the killing, according to news reports.