Mapping every journalist killed in South Asia
since 1992

By Aadit Tambe


Data current as of Oct. 24, 2021

167 journalists have been killed in South Asian countries — which include Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives — since 1992, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

CPJ’s 2020 Global Impunity Index spotlights countries where journalists are singled out for murder and their killers go free, showed that three out of the top 12 countries — Bangladesh, India and Pakistan — are located in South Asia.

Curruption, weak institutions, and lack of political will to pursue robust investigations were factors behind impunity in most countries on the list. Some cases that were thought to be resolved were upended. Last year, Pakistan's Sindh High Court overturned the murder convictions of four men accused of killing Daniel Pearl, a South Asia correspondent for the Wall Street Journal.

CPJ defines journalists as people who cover news or comment on public affairs in print, in photographs, on radio, on television, or online. Writers, editors, publishers, producers, technicians, photographers, camera operators, and directors of news organizations are all included.

The following interactive map plots the killing of every journalist in South Asia since 1992 — click on the dots to read their stories:

Name Year Nationality Killed by Job Press organization Location
Abdul Aziz Shaheen 2008 Pakistan Military Officials Print Reporter Azadi Swat, Pakistan
Abdul Hakim Shimul 2017 Bangladesh Government Officials Print Reporter Samakal Shahjadpur, Bangladesh
Abdul Haq Baloch 2012 Pakistan Political Group Broadcast Reporter ARY Television Khuzdar, Pakistan
Abdul Qadir Hajizai 2012 Pakistan Political Group Broadcast Reporter WASH TV Quetta, Pakistan
Abdul Razzak Johra 2008 Pakistan Criminal Group Broadcast Reporter Royal TV Punjab, Pakistan
Abdul Wahab 2010 Pakistan Political Group Broadcast Reporter,Camera Operator Express News Ghalanai, Pakistan
Achyutananda Sahu 2018 India Political Group Camera Operator Doordarshan Chhattisgarh, India
Ahmed Rajib Haider 2013 Bangladesh Political Group Internet Reporter Freelance Dhaka, Bangladesh
Ahmed Rilwan Abdulla 2014 Maldives Political Group Internet Reporter,Print Reporter Minivan News Male, Maldives
Aiyathurai Nadesan 2004 Sri Lanka Military Officials Print Reporter Virakesari Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
Allah Noor 2005 Pakistan Political Group Photographer Khyber TV Wana, Pakistan
Altaf Ahmed Faktoo 1997 India Political Group Broadcast Reporter Doordarshan TV Srinagar, India
Amir Nowab 2005 Pakistan Political Group Broadcast Reporter Associated Press Television News and Frontier Post Wana, Pakistan
Ananta Bijoy Das 2015 Bangladesh Political Group Internet Reporter,Print Reporter Freelance Sylhet, Bangladesh
Anil Mazumdar 2009 India Political Group Editor Aji Rajgarh, Assam, India
Anura Priyantha 1999 Sri Lanka Political Group Technician Independent Television Network Colombo, Sri Lanka
Asfandyar Khan 2011 Pakistan Political Group Print Reporter Akhbar-e-Khyber Peshawar, Pakistan
Ashok Sodhi 2008 India Political Group Photographer Daily Excelsior Samba, India
Asiya Jeelani 2004 India Political Group Print Reporter freelance Kashmir, India
Aslam Durrani 2013 Pakistan Political Group Editor Daily Pakistan Peshawar, Pakistan
Avijit Roy 2015 Political Group Internet Reporter,Print Reporter Freelance Dhaka, Bangladesh
Ayub Khattak 2013 Pakistan Criminal Group Print Reporter Karak Times Karak District, Pakistan
Azamat Ali Bangash 2010 Pakistan Political Group Broadcast Reporter,Internet Reporter Samaa TV Orakzai, Pakistan
Bala Nadarajah Iyer 2004 Sri Lanka Political Group Print Reporter Thinamurasu and Thinakaran Colombo, Sri Lanka
Bhola Nath Masoom 1993 India Political Group Print Reporter Hind Samachar Rajpura, India
Birendra Shah 2007 Nepal Political Group Broadcast Reporter,Print Reporter Nepal FM, Dristi Weekly, and Avenues TV Bara district, Nepal
Borhan Uddin Muzakkir 2021 Bangladesh Political Group,Government Officials Internet Reporter,Print Reporter Barta Bazar,Bangladesh Samachar Companiganj, Bangladesh
Chandan Tiwari 2018 India Criminal Group,Local Residents Print Reporter Aj Newspaper Chatra, India
Chennakeshavalu 2021 Local Residents,Government Officials Broadcast Reporter EV5 Andhra Pradesh, India
Chishti Mujahid 2008 Pakistan Political Group Columnist/Commentator,Photographer Akbar-e-Jehan Quetta, Pakistan
Daniel Pearl 2002 USA Political Group Print Reporter The Wall Street Journal Karachi, Pakistan
Dekendra Raj Thapa 2004 Nepal Political Group Broadcast Reporter Radio Nepal Dailekh, Nepal
Dhan Bahadur Rokka Magar 2003 Nepal Political Group Broadcast Reporter Radio Nepal Jaluki, Nepal
Dharmeratnam Sivaram 2005 Sri Lanka Government Officials Columnist/Commentator TamilNet and Daily Mirror Colombo, Sri Lanka
Dinesh Pathak 1993 India Political Group Editor Sandesh Baroda, India
Dwijamani Singh 2012 India Government Officials Broadcast Reporter,Camera Operator Prime News Imphal, India
Ejaz Raisani 2010 Pakistan Criminal Group, Mob Violence Camera Operator Samaa TV Quetta, Pakistan
Ejazul Haq 2010 Pakistan Broadcast Reporter,Technician City-42 TV Lahore, Pakistan
Faisal Arefin Dipan 2015 Bangladesh Political Group Publisher/Owner Jagriti Prokashoni Dhaka , Bangladesh
Faisal Qureshi 2011 Pakistan Political Group Editor,Internet Reporter The London Post Lahore, Pakistan
Fazal Wahab 2003 Pakistan Political Group Columnist/Commentator,Print Reporter freelance Mingora, Pakistan
G. Raja Sekhar 1997 India Political Group Technician Eenadu Television (E-TV) Hyderabad, India
Gauri Lankesh 2017 India Political Group Publisher/Owner,Columnist/Commentator Gauri Lankesh Patrike Bangalore, India
Gautam Das 2005 Bangladesh Government Officials Print Reporter Samakal Faridpur, Bangladesh
Ghulam Muhammad Lone 1994 India Political Group Print Reporter Freelancer Kangan, India
Ghulam Rasool 2014 Pakistan Print Reporter Online International News Network Quetta, Pakistan
Ghulam Rasool Birhamani 2010 Pakistan Mob Violence Print Reporter Daily Sindhu Hyderabad Wahi Pandhi, Pakistan
Ghulam Rasool Sheikh 1996 India Paramilitary Group Editor Rehnuma-e-Kashmir and Saffron Times Pampore, Kashmir, India
Gyanendra Khadka 2003 Nepal Political Group Print Reporter Rastriya Samachar Samiti Jyamire, Sindhupalchowk, Nepal
Harunur Rashid 2002 Bangladesh Political Group Print Reporter Dainik Purbanchal Khulna, Bangladesh
Hayatullah Khan 2006 Pakistan Military Officials Photographer freelance Miran Shah, Pakistan
Humayun Kabir 2004 Bangladesh Political Group Editor Janmabhumi Khulna, Bangladesh
Iliyas Hossain 2020 Bangladesh Criminal Group,Local Residents Print Reporter Dainik Bijoy Bandar, Bangladesh
Imran Shaikh 2013 Pakistan Political Group Camera Operator Samaa TV Quetta, Pakistan
Indika Pathinivasan 1999 Sri Lanka Technician Maharaja Television Network Colombo, Sri Lanka
Irshad Mastoi 2014 Pakistan Editor,Print Reporter Online International News Network, ARY News Quetta, Pakistan
Isaivizhi Chempiyan 2007 Sri Lanka Military Officials Broadcast Reporter Voice of Tigers Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka
Jagadish Babu 1997 India Political Group Producer Eenadu Television (E-TV) Hyderabad, India
Jagendra Singh 2015 India Government Officials Internet Reporter Freelance Shahjahanpur district, Uttar Pradesh, India
Jamal Uddin 2012 Bangladesh Criminal Group Print Reporter Gramer Kagoj Kashipur, Bangladesh
Janullah Hashimzada 2009 Military Officials Broadcast Reporter freelance Jamrud, Pakistan
Javed Ahmed Mir 2008 India Paramilitary Group Camera Operator Channel 9 Srinagar, India
Javed Khan 2007 Pakistan Photographer Markaz and DM Digital TV Islamabad, Pakistan
Javed Naseer Rind 2011 Pakistan Columnist/Commentator,Editor,Print Reporter Daily Tawar Khuzdar, Pakistan
Jyotirmoy Dey 2011 India Criminal Group Print Reporter Midday Powai, India
Kamal Hossain 2004 Bangladesh Criminal Group Print Reporter Ajker Kagoj Manikcchari , Bangladesh
Karun Misra 2016 India Criminal Group, Local Residents Print Reporter Jansandesh Times Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India
Lanka Jayasundara 2004 Sri Lanka Political Group Print Reporter Wijeya Publications Colombo, Sri Lanka
Lasantha Wickramatunga 2009 Sri Lanka Government Officials Editor The Sunday Leader Colombo, Sri Lanka
M. L. Manchanda 1992 India Political Group Producer All India Radio Patiala, India
Maheshwar Pahari 2005 Nepal Government Officials Print Reporter Rastriya Swabhiman Pokhara, Nepal
Malik Arif 2010 Pakistan Camera Operator Samaa TV Quetta, Pakistan
Manik Saha 2004 Bangladesh Political Group Print Reporter New Age Khulna, Bangladesh
Manish Kumar Singh 2021 India Criminal Group Broadcast Reporter Sudarshan TV Bihar, India
Mehboob Khan 2007 Pakistan Political Group Photographer freelance Charsadda, Pakistan
Mehmood Khan 2016 Pakistan Political Group Camera Operator DawnNews Quetta, Pakistan
Mir Illias Hossain 2000 Bangladesh Political Group Columnist/Commentator,Editor Dainik Bir Darpan Jhenaidah, Bangladesh
Mirza Iqbal Hussain 2013 Pakistan Political Group Photographer News Network International Quetta, Pakistan
Misri Khan 2010 Pakistan Political Group Print Reporter Ausaf and Mashriq Hangu, Pakistan
Mohammad Imran 2009 Pakistan Political Group Camera Operator Express TV Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan
Mohammad Quamruzzaman 1996 Bangladesh Military Officials Print Reporter Neel Sagar Nilphamari, Bangladesh
Mohammad Samdani Warsi 1994 Pakistan Political Group Parcham Karachi, Pakistan
Mohammed Ibrahim 2008 Pakistan Broadcast Reporter Express TV and Daily Express Khar, Pakistan
Mohammed Muslimuddin 2008 India Criminal Group Print Reporter Asomiya Pratidin Barpukhuri, India
Mohammed Salahuddin 1994 Pakistan Political Group Editor Takbeer Karachi, Pakistan
Moolchand Yadav 2001 India Criminal Group Print Reporter Freelance Jhansi, India
Muhammad Arif 2007 Pakistan Political Group Camera Operator ARY Television Karachi, Pakistan
Mukarram Khan Aatif 2012 Pakistan Military Officials, Political Group Broadcast Reporter Freelance Shabqadar, Pakistan
Munir Ahmed Sangi 2006 Pakistan Political Group Camera Operator Kawish Television Network Larkana, Pakistan
Musa Khankhel 2009 Pakistan Military Officials Broadcast Reporter,Print Reporter Geo TV and The News Swat, Pakistan
Mushtaq Ali 1995 India Camera Operator,Photographer Agence France-Presse and Asian News International Srinagar, India
Mushtaq Khand 2012 Pakistan Broadcast Reporter,Print Reporter Dharti Television Network and Mehran Khairpur, Pakistan
MVN Shankar 2014 India Criminal Group Print Reporter Andhra Prabha Andhra Pradesh, India
Mylvaganam Nimalarajan 2000 Sri Lanka Government Officials Broadcast Reporter,Print Reporter BBC, Virakesari, Ravaya Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Nahar Ali 2001 Bangladesh Government Officials Print Reporter Anirban Khulna, Bangladesh
Narendra Dabholkar 2013 India Editor Sadhana Pune, India
Nasrullah Khan Afridi 2011 Pakistan Political Group Broadcast Reporter,Print Reporter Pakistan Television and Mashriq Peshawar, Pakistan
Nava Raj Sharma 2002 Nepal Political Group Editor Kadam Kalikot, Nepal
Navin Nischal 2018 India Government Officials,Criminal Group Print Reporter Dainik Bhaskar Arrah, India
Niloy Neel 2015 Bangladesh Political Group Internet Reporter Freelance Dhaka, Bangladesh
Noor Hakim Khan 2007 Pakistan Political Group Print Reporter Daily Pakistan Bajaur, Pakistan
P. Srinivas Rao 1997 India Political Group Camera Operator Eenadu Television (E-TV) Hyderabad, India
Parag Kumar Das 1996 India Political Group Editor Asomiya Pratidin Assam, India
Paranirupasingham Devakumar 2008 Sri Lanka Political Group Broadcast Reporter News 1st Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Parvaz Mohammed Sultan 2003 India Editor News and Feature Alliance Srinagar, India
Pervez Khan 2010 Pakistan Political Group Broadcast Reporter,Camera Operator Waqt TV Ghalanai, Pakistan
Pradeep Bhatia 2000 India Political Group Photographer The Hindustan Times Srinagar, India
Prahlad Goala 2006 India Government Officials Print Reporter Asomiya Khabar Golaghat, India
Prakash Singh Thakuri 2007 Nepal Political Group Print Reporter Freelance Mahendranagar, Nepal
Puniyamoorthy Sathiyamoorthy 2009 Sri Lanka Government Officials Broadcast Reporter freelance Mullaitheevu district, Sri Lanka
Rajdev Ranjan 2016 India Criminal Group Print Reporter Hindustan Siwan, Bihar, India
Rajesh Mishra 2012 India Criminal Group Print Reporter Media Raj Rewa, India
Rajesh Mishra 2017 India Criminal Group Print Reporter Dainik Jagran Brahmanpur Chatti, Ghazipur district, India
Rajesh Verma 2013 India Broadcast Reporter,Camera Operator IBN 7 Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India
Rakesh Sharma 2013 India Criminal Group Print Reporter Aaj Etawah, Uttar Pradesh, India
Rakesh Singh 2020 India Criminal Group Print Reporter Rashtriya Swaroop Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh, India
Ram Chander Chaterpatti 2002 India Political Group Editor Poora Sach Sirsa, India
Ram Singh Biling 1992 India Government Officials Print Reporter Azdi Awaz, Daily Ajit Jalandhar, India
Rashmi Mohamed 2008 Sri Lanka Political Group Broadcast Reporter Sirasa TV Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka
Razzaq Gul 2012 Pakistan Broadcast Reporter Express News TV Turbat, Pakistan
Rehmatullah Abid 2012 Pakistan Broadcast Reporter,Camera Operator,Print Reporter Dunya News TV, Intikhaab Panjgur, Baluchistan, Pakistan
Relangi Selvarajah 2005 Sri Lanka Political Group Columnist/Commentator Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corp. Colombo, Sri Lanka
S. Gangadhara Raju 1997 India Political Group Camera Operator Eenadu Television (E-TV) Hyderabad, India
S. Krishna 1997 India Political Group Camera Operator Eenadu Television (E-TV) Hyderabad, India
Sadrul Alam Nipul 2014 Bangladesh Criminal Group Print Reporter Dainik Mathabhanga Chuadanga, Bangladesh
Sai Reddy 2013 India Political Group Print Reporter Deshbandhu Bijapur District, India
Saidan Shafi 1997 India Political Group Broadcast Reporter Doordarshan TV Srinagar, India
Saif ur Rehman 2013 Pakistan Political Group Broadcast Reporter Samaa TV Quetta, Pakistan
Saiful Alam Mukul 1998 Bangladesh Editor,Publisher/Owner Daily Runner Jessore, Bangladesh
Sajid Tanoli 2004 Pakistan Government Officials Print Reporter Shumal Mansehra, Pakistan
Saleem Shahzad 2011 Pakistan Military Officials Columnist/Commentator,Internet Reporter Asia Times Online Mandi Bahauddin, Pakistan
Sandeep Sharma 2018 India Criminal Group Broadcast Reporter News World Ghazipur district, India
Saqib Khan 2012 Pakistan Political Group Photographer Ummat Karachi, Pakistan
Selvarajah Rajeewarnam 2007 Sri Lanka Political Group Print Reporter Uthayan Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Shafiullah Khan 2011 Pakistan Political Group Print Reporter The News Wah Cantonment, Pakistan
Shahid Soomro 2002 Pakistan Government Officials Print Reporter Kawish Kandhkot, Pakistan
Shahid Zehri 2021 Pakistan Political Group Broadcast Reporter Metro 1 News Hub, Pakistan
Shamsur Rahman 2000 Bangladesh Criminal Group Broadcast Reporter,Print Reporter Janakantha Jessore, Bangladesh
Shan Dahar 2014 Pakistan Criminal Group Broadcast Reporter Abb Takk Television Larkana, Pakistan
Shantanu Bhowmik 2017 India Mob Violence Broadcast Reporter Dinraat West Tripura district, India
Shehzad Ahmed 2016 Pakistan Political Group Camera Operator Aaj News Quetta, Pakistan
Sheikh Belaluddin 2005 Bangladesh Political Group Print Reporter Sangram Khulna, Bangladesh
Shoba 2009 Sri Lanka Military Officials Broadcast Reporter O'liveechchu Mullivaikkal, Sri Lanka
Shubham Mani Tripathi 2020 India Criminal Group Print Reporter Kampu Mail Uttar Pradesh, India
Shujaat Bukhari 2018 India Editor,Print Reporter Rising Kashmir Srinagar city, India
Shukur Hossain 2002 Bangladesh Political Group Print Reporter Anirban Ula, Bangladesh
Siraj Uddin 2008 Pakistan Print Reporter The Nation Mingora, Pakistan
Sohail Khan 2018 Pakistan Criminal Group Print Reporter K2 Times Haripur, Pakistan
Subash Chandraboas 2007 Sri Lanka Political Group Publisher/Owner Nilam Vavuniya, Sri Lanka
Subramaniyam Sugitharajah 2006 Sri Lanka Government Officials Print Reporter Sudar Oli Trincomalee, Sri Lanka
Sudip Dutta Bhaumik 2017 India Government Officials Print Reporter Syandan Patrika West Tripura district, India
Sufi Mohammad Khan 2000 Pakistan Criminal Group Print Reporter Ummat Badin, Pakistan
Sulabh Srivastava 2021 India Criminal Group Broadcast Reporter ABP News,ABP Ganga Pratapgarh District, India
Suresh Linbiyo 2007 Sri Lanka Military Officials Technician Voice of Tigers Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka
T. Tharmalingam 2007 Sri Lanka Military Officials Technician Voice of Tigers Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka
Tahir Awan 2009 Pakistan Political Group Print Reporter freelance Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan
Taimoor Khan 2017 Pakistan Political Group Camera Operator Samaa TV Karachi, Pakistan
Tarun Kumar Acharya 2014 India Local Residents Broadcast Reporter,Print Reporter Kanak TV, Sambad Odisha, India
Uma Singh 2009 Nepal Political Group Broadcast Reporter Janakpur Today, Radio Today Janakpur , Nepal
Umesh Rajput 2011 India Local Residents Print Reporter Nai Dunia Raipur district, India
Veeraboina Yadagiri 2004 India Criminal Group Print Reporter Andhra Prabha Medak, India
Vijay Pratap Singh 2010 India Political Group Print Reporter Indian Express Allahabad, India
Vikas Ranjan 2008 India Print Reporter Hindustan Rosera, India
Wali Khan Babar 2011 Pakistan Political Group Broadcast Reporter Geo TV Karachi, Pakistan
Washiqur Rahman Babu 2015 Bangladesh Political Group Internet Reporter Freelance Dhaka, Bangladesh
Yameen Rasheed 2017 Maldives Criminal Group Columnist/Commentator,Publisher/Owner The Daily Panic Male, Maldives
Z.A. Shahid 1997 Pakistan Political Group Photographer Khabrain Lahore, Pakistan
Zaman Mehsud 2015 Pakistan Political Group Print Reporter Daily Ummat, Daily Nai Baat Tank, Pakistan
Zubair Ahmed Mujahid 2007 Pakistan Government Officials Print Reporter Jang Mirpur Khas, Pakistan

Methodology and sources

This is my first news application developed after completing the First News App tutorial. I wrote a web scraper to collect data from the Committee to Protect Journalists website to obtain biographical descriptions of each journalist's death. Using the GeoPy package, I converted locations to geographical coordinates — after cleaning and analyzing the data in pandas.

My analysis can be found in this jupyter notebook.

In addition to the First News App tutorial, thank you to the following resources for inspiration:

Note: Geographic locations are generated by GeoPy and may be approximate. Certain coordinates were changed manually to accomodate multiple points in the same town/city.