NALBARI, April 26 - Rajen Deka, the Mukalmua-based journalist of Dainik Asam, was seriously injured when he was attacked with sharp weapons, allegedly by a BJP worker, at Tegheriattari village under Mukalmua Police Station in Nalbari district on Thursday night.
Tinsukia-based TV journalist Upasana Barua Goswami was also assaulted by four miscreants in a restaurant. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has strongly condemned the attacks.
Rajen Deka was returning home on his bike from Mukalmua Chowk when he was attacked. He received injuries to his head, chest, wrist and arms, and was immediately rushed to the nearby Mukalmua Community Hospital. The doctors there later referred him to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) for better treatment. However, Deka left the GMCH on Friday morning as his mother�s condition was stated to be very serious.
When this correspondent visited Deka�s residence on Friday, he alleged that BJP worker Ripul Deka alias Baba, along with a group of youths who were in a tempo van, attacked him when he stopped his bike near an LP school. The attackers managed to flee the spot under the cover of darkness.
The journalist also said he was threatened on Facebook by some BJP workers for a news story filed by him in Thursday�s issue of Dainik Asam. One Jintu Medhi allegedly uploaded a post on the social network threatening to kill the journalist.
Deka on Friday lodged a complaint at the Mukalmua Police Station against Ripul Deka and Medhi, for instigating the attack through the Facebook post.
Journalists of the district on Friday staged a two-hour sit-in demonstration in front of the Nalbari Natya Mandir. The Nalbari District Journalists Union later submitted two memoranda to the Deputy Commissioner and the Superintendent of Police.
Our Staff Reporter adds: Chief Minister Sonowal has strongly condemned the attack on journalists Rajen Deka and Upasana Baruah Goswami. In a statement, he said the State government was committed to the safety and security of journalists. He said the assault against the two media persons was highly condemnable and the government would take strict action against the perpetrators.
Sonowal has directed Director General of Police Kuladhar Saikia to take immediate steps in this regard.
The Chief Minister�s Media Advisor Hrishikesh Goswami also discussed the matter with the DGP and asked him to take urgent measures to nab the culprits. The media advisor also took stock of their health and wished them early recovery.
PTI adds: Tinsukia-based journalist Upasana Barua Goswami was assaulted by four miscreants in a restaurant. All four � identified as Pramod Gogoi, Pragjyoti Das, Dhananjay Dutta and Dwipan Sonowal � have been arrested, police said.
The journalist, employed with News18 Assam-Northeast, said 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.
