A vocal critic of the LDF government and the growing Islamic fundamentalism in Kerala S V Pradeep who was a popular journalist in Kerala was killed in a hit and run incident in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday (December 16).
Pradeep for a while had received life threats both online and offline and on Monday, he was travelling on his scooter when a tipper lorry which came from behind hit his vehicle and sped away without stopping.
Incidentally, there were no CCTV cameras in the area where the accident took place.
Immediately there was outrage in social media and many called his death as a well-planned murder and called for a CBI enquiry into the incident. His supporters and well-wishers say they have no trust in Kerala police which comes under the LDF government
Pradeep was a veteran journalist and had worked with major media outlets like News 18, Jai Hind, Mediaone, Mangalam and Kairali and to his credit he had done several news breakings on the gold smuggling case which directly pointed fingers at the state government and the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
For a long time, Pradeep had earned the ire of both Communists and Islamists due to his reporting.
Union Minister V. Muraleedharan, BJP Kerala president K Surendran, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala and other political leaders have called for a detailed investigation to find the real culprits.
The Kerala Union of Working Journalist has demanded a probe into the death of S V Pradeep.