Senior journalist Kamal Shukla, editor of Bhumkal Samachar, a Hindi daily published from Kanker district in Chhattisgarh, was allegedly beaten up on Saturday, 26 September.
This was, as reported Scroll.in, in retaliation for reporting on the sand mafia in the area, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
According to Hindustan Times, Shukla is now on hunger strike. He has since claimed that Congress leaders and party workers were behind the attack.
The police, however, rejected the claim and said that the assault was because of an altercation between two groups of journalists. Cases have been registered by both sides, it added.
Shukla also claims that he was threatened with dire consequences when he went to the police station to register his complaint, Hindustan Times reported.
In the complaint, Shukla alleged that he was attacked by Congress leaders and the local MLA’s aide brandished a pistol at him.
Journalists in Kanker have also sent a petition to Governor Anusuiya Uikey, naming several Congress leaders. They allege that other journalists like Jeevananda Haldar and Satish Yadav were also attacked in front of the police station, reported Scroll.in.
In a video that went viral after surfacing online, Shukla can be seen being pulled and dragged by a group of people by his shirt collar. Those people can be seen abusing the journalist.
Shukla was helped by the crowd present.
“Police are falsely saying that the incident was the result of a fight between two groups of journalists. The accused, who they are calling a journalist, is the leader of a workers’ union and runs a newspaper. The other accused is a Congress leader and his supporters,” Shukla told Hindustan Times.
Shukla also claims that he was attacked in front of the cops, who did not save him.
Fellow journalists claim that Shukla was assaulted by Congress leaders Ghaffar Memon, Shadab Khan and Ganesh Tiwari.
Another journalist, Jeevananda Haldar, who attempted to save Shukla, also suffered injuries.
The journalists have demanded that strong action be taken against those responsible for attacking Shukla and others.
(With inputs from Scroll and Hindustan Times)
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