Pall of gloom at Pulitzer-winning Indian photojournalist Danish Siddique’s house in Ghaffar Manzil. He died on line of duty in Kandahar and has left behind 2 children and a wife. His friends and neighbours pay tributes to him. A report by Syed Wasi Imam.
Danish was born and brought up in Ghaffar Manzil and his father Md Akhtar Siddique taught at Jamia Millia Islamia’s education faculty. As the news of his death spread like wildfire in India, many of his neighbours, friends and Jamia alumni turned up at his house to console the family. Danish was a known face in the locality as was extremely friendly and always ready to guide youths in the right direction, said his friends and neighbours.
Danish, working with news agency Reuters, was killed while reporting in Afghanistan’s Kandahar on Thursday night, according to the media report.
Earlier, Siddiqui told Reuters he had been wounded in the arm by a shrapnel while reporting on the clash, reported NDTV.
“Danish was an outstanding journalist, a devoted husband and father, and a much-loved colleague. Our thoughts are with his family at this terrible time,” Reuters President Michael Friedenberg and Editor-in-Chief Alessandra Galloni said in a statement.
In a string of tweets three days ago, Danish wrote he “felt lucky to be safe”. He had won the award in 2018 for his work on the Rohingya refugee crisis.
