Assam journalist tied to pole, thrashed in public
A journalist from Assam, who was tied to pole and beaten up by three men stated on Wednesday that his attackers wanted to kill him as he had reported against them, NDTV reported.
Milan Mahanta told the news channel that the accused also attacked the people who came to his aid. He added that three days had gone by since he was attacked, but the police didn’t come to him for details. The police have so far taken only one person into custody.
Milan Mahanta, works with the Asomiya Praditin newspaper. He had told The Print on Wednesday that his attackers were “goons” involved in illegal gambling and land-grabbing. “I reported on them and they were angry that I brought their activities into focus,” he said. The journalist added that the residents of area were also familiar with their activities.
Journalist Milan Mahanta reportedly assaulted by gamblers in a mob attack in South Kamrup for reporting their crimes. No police action so far. @assampolice pic.twitter.com/BEva1vMEid
— Aarif Shah (@aarifshaah) November 15, 2020
Mahanta also told how the accused surrounded him when he stopped at a shop and started hitting him. “The severe blows made my head spin and, before I could realise it, my hands were tied behind the pole with a cable”.
The journalist stated that his attackers told him that they wanted to set an example for anyone who dared to go against them. He also said that the goons had a car ready to take his body away and dump it, after they killed him. “This was an attempt to kill me but it was foiled as the local residents interfered,” he said.
The attack took place less than a week after another journalist, Parag Bhuyan, died in Assam’s Tinsukia district after he was hit by a car near his home in Kakopathar. Bhuyan’s colleagues, however, alleged that he was murdered. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had ordered an investigation into the incident.
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First published: 19 November 2020, 13:09 IST