Prominent Indian journalist Gauri Lankesh, known for her critical views on Hindu nationalist politics, has been shot and killed in the south-western state of Karnataka.
"Lankesh was known as a fierce critic of Hindu nationalist organisations in her state and was convicted of defamation last year for a piece accusing members of the Bharatiya Janata party of theft," The Guardian reports.
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Her killing is the latest in a string of attacks on outspoken secularists in India, and comes amid fears that religiously motivated violence is on the rise.
A report by the Committee to Protect Journalists says that 27 journalists have been killed in India since 1992, and the group is investigating a further 25 deaths for links to the victim's work.
"The attack on the select writers is obviously happening because they are able to mould public opinion... there is a pattern in the way assailants come on motorbikes, kill, and vanish," writer K Marulasiddappa told the BBC.
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