Brussels, June 16 (IANS) The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the world's largest journalists' group, has condemned the brutal killing of an Indian journalist in Nagpur, Maharashtra, last week following his expose of an illegal gambling racket.

Arun Narayan Dekate, a rural correspondent with the Marathi daily Tarun Bharat, died on June 10 from injuries sustained after he was attacked with stones on his way home on June 8.

Dekate was admitted to a hospital in Nagpur immediately after the attack but died of his injuries on June 10, said an IFJ statement.

According to local reports, Dekate had recently exposed an illegal gambling racket and his recent tip-off to police about the activities of alleged gambling boss Dhampal Bhagat had resulted in several arrests.

"This brutal murder is a direct attack on the freedom of the Indian press. Sadly, another voice exposing illegalities has been silenced," said IFJ president Christopher Warren, according to INEP agency.

Just hours after Dekate's death, another journalist in India was abducted and an attempt made on his life.

Syed Shujaat Bukhari, Kashmir-based special correspondent of The Hindu newspaper, was reportedly forced into an auto-rickshaw by two armed men on his way home from work and was later thrown from the vehicle and shot at.

"In a single day one journalist has died from violence and another has narrowly escaped. The Indian authorities must not let these crimes go unpunished," Warren said and called for "a swift and thorough" investigation into these attacks.

The Brussels-based IFJ represents more than 500,000 journalists in over 110 countries.