KATHMANDU, Mar 02 - The media fraternity and the entire civil society were left in a state of shock for the second time in less than a month.

The gruesome murder of Janakpur-based media entrepreneur Arun Singhanyia on Sunday has exposed the country's lax security.

The killing took place just 21 days after the murder of Kathmandu-based media entrepreneur Jamim Shah.

Condemnations poured in from dozens of media organisations, professional associations and human rights defenders.

They have deman-ded immediate action to bring the culprits to book and raised questions on the government's ability to ensure security.

Singhanyia, Chairperson of Janakpur Today Media Group, was shot dead on Sunday evening by some unidentified gunmen in Janakpur.

Police have no clue about the murde-rers and their motive.

In a statement on Tuesday, OHCHR Nepal deplored Singhanyia's murder and urged the government to nab the culprits and provide security for all journalists under threat.

"OHCHR-Nepal is deeply concerned to learn of the killing of Singhanyia," reads the statement.

"This comes a year after the killing of Uma Singh, a woman journalist who worked with the same media group, and less than a month after the murder of media entrepreneur Jamim Shah."

Nepal Media Society said it was both shocked and deeply hurt by news of Singhanyia's killing. The incident, the Society observes, has terrorised the entire media sector making it highly insecure.

"We demand that the government maintain peace and security by ensuring that such incidents are not repeated in future."

Similarly, INSEC said the incident had proved the government's failure to ensure security. An INSEC study had declared Dhanusha as the district with the largest number of killings - 39 (33 by non-state actors) - in 2009.

The concentration of crime in the Tarai has raised a serious question on the efficacy of the government's Special Security Plan, said INSEC Mid-Regional Coordinator Krishna Gautam.

Political parties, including UCPN (Maoist) and Nepal Sadbhavana Party, media organisations such as Federation of Nepali Journalists and Nepal Press Council and Nepal Bar Association have condemned the incident and demanded immediate action against the culprits.