NEW DELHI, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- A senior journalist and his 92-year-old mother were found murdered on Saturday afternoon in northern Indian state of Punjab, police said.
The bodies were found at their residence in Mohali town of Punjab.
"Singh's was stabbed in stomach and his throat had been slit while his mother Gurcharan Kaur was suspected to have been throttled at their home," a police official said. "Prima facie it appears to be a murder."
Local authorities have set up a special investigative team to probe the suspected murders, a local government spokesman said.
KJ Singh, who was in his sixties, has served as editor of The Indian Express, The Tribune and The Times of India in Chandigarh in his journalistic career.
Journalist fraternity in the state and capital city of Chandigarh have strongly condemned the killings.
Reports said police officials have seized the CCTV footage from a camera installed two houses away and were scanning it for clues.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), president and former deputy chief minister of Punjab Sukhbir Badal, has condemned the killings and asked for a speedy investigation.
"I condemn ghastly murder of senior journalist KJ Singh and his mother at Mohali. Urge police to nab perpetrators immediately," Badal wrote on twitter.
The SAD is the main opposition party in the state.
This is the third journalist's killing in the past 19 days in India.
On Wednesday a journalist working with local television news channel was hacked to death by mob in northeastern state of Tripura.
Earlier on Sept. 5, a senior journalist and an outspoken activist was shot dead outside her residence in southwestern state of Karnataka.
Analysts said India is becoming a "more dangerous place to practice journalism."
