Santra, a freelance contributor to the Delhi-based weekly Julm se Jang, died after opening a parcel bomb containing an explosive device, according to local news reports. A courier service had delivered the package to her South Baksara home in the Howrah District of West Bengal state, news reports said. Her husband was also injured in the explosion, the reports said.
News accounts reported that police were investigating the murder.
Family members told local journalists that Santra had made several enemies and had received threatening phone calls. She was also a member of a local human rights organization and had advocated for a neighbor who was a victim of domestic violence, news reports said.
In October 2012, police arrested three suspects named Abhishek Roy, Bishwajit Majhi, and Shubhankar Das, in connection with the case, according to reports. Police said that the alleged mastermind, Debashish Dey, was arrested a day later in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, and remanded in custody, reports said. Dey allegedly hired Das to kill the journalist because of evidence she had given against him in a marital dispute case, according to reports. CPJ was unable to determine if Dey denies the accusations.