Journalist Akhilesh Pratap Singh (L) and Rajdev Ranjan (R) were shot dead in Jharkhand and Bihar respectively.

Highlights Rajdev Ranjan, bureau chief of a Hindi daily, shot dead in Bihar's Siwan

Akhilesh Pratap Singh, reporter for a TV channel, killed in Jharkhand

Both journalists shot dead at extremely close range

Akhilesh Pratap Singh was gunned down in Jharkhand's Chakra district.

Two journalists have been shot dead in Bihar and neighbouring Jharkhand in the last 24 hours.On Friday evening, Rajdev Ranjan, a journalist with over 20 years of experience and the bureau chief of the Hindi daily Hindustan, was shot dead in Bihar's Siwan district.Five shots were fired at him at extremely close range near Siwan's railway station.Mr Ranjan was dead by the time he was brought to the local hospital. The Bihar Police says the motive for the killing is unclear, and that he had no personal enmity with anyone.Meanwhile, in Jharkhand's Chatra district, a journalist was shot dead by unidentified people on Thursday night. 35-year-old Akhilesh Pratap Singh worked for a local news channel, and was gunned down near the panchayat secretariat of his village.Chief Minister Raghubar Das condemned the incident and asked Director General of Police DK Pandey to arrest the attackers at the earliest.