Two scribes attacked in separate incidents in Assam; Am condemns

Nalbari/Guwahati, April 26 (PTI): Two journalists, including a woman, have come under attack in separate incidents in Nalbari and Tinsukia districts of Assam, a police officer said on Friday.

Rajen Deka, a correspondent with Assamese daily ‘Dainik Asom’, was assaulted with sharp weapons on Thursday night allegedly by BJP activist Ripul Deka alias Baba at Tegheriattari village of Nalbari, he said.

“Rajen, who was on his way home, sustained serious injuries on his head, chest, wrist and arms. He is currently undergoing treatment at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital,” the officer said.

The BJP activist, accompanied by some youths, managed to escape in an auto-rickshaw after the attack, he said.

“One of the youths, identified as Jintu Medhi, uploaded a post on social media on Friday morning, threatening to kill the journalist. An FIR has been lodged against both Ripul Deka and Jintu Medhi in connection with the case,” he said.

Condemning the attack, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal asked Director General of Police Kuladhar Saikia to speed up the investigations and ensure that the culprits were booked at the earliest.

In another incident, Tinsukia-based television journalist Upasana Barua Goswami was assaulted by a group of four miscreants in a restaurant.

All four of them, identified as Pramod Gogoi, Pragjyoti Das, Dhananjay Dutta and Dwipan Sonowal have been arrested, a senior police officer said.

The journalist, employed with News18 Assam-Northeast, claimed that she visited a restaurant late on Thursday, where the miscreants tried to misbehave with her.

“The men, in an inebriated state, tried to misbehave with me, but the owner of the restaurant immediately intervened. One of them suddenly slapped the female manager and others started attacking me and my husband.

“I recorded the entire incident on my mobile phone and informed the police,” she added.