The Indian Express newspaper and a journalist of The Week were on Thursday declared joint winners of the International Press Institute-India Award for Excellence for outstanding journalist work.

The award, which carries a cash bag of Rs one lakh, a trophy and a citation, was constituted in 2003 to recognize and honour the best work done by an Indian media organization or a journalist.

Bidisha Ghoshal of the 'The Week' won IPI-India Award for Excellence in Journalism-2009 for her "sensitive" reports on the sexual and other traumas suffered by widows of farmers in Maharashtra, the IPI-India said in a statement.

"Her reports brought a new awareness of the plight of the widows. Bidisha sensitively wrote about the helplessness of the widows and how they were sexually and financially exploited by relatives and strangers," it said.

The Indian Express was selected for its sustained investigation of the involvement of a Hindu extremist group behind the Malegaon and Modasa terror attacks in 2008.

"The newspaper had investigated the various angles of the blasts and was the first to report that the police had identified the nexus between the various people and groups involved. The newspaper joined the dots of a bizarre plot which had a strange cast of characters, which included a sadhvi, an army officer and a sadhu," the statement said.

The awardees were selected by a five-member jury headed by former Chief Justice of India A S Anand.