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Prasanta Kumar attack: It’s a tough life for reporters in Assam
In Assam, cases of assaults on mediapersons are dime a dozen. In the latest attack, a rural reporter of Asomiya Pratidin, Prasanta Kumar, was shot in his left shoulder on June 18. He survived.
In Assam, cases of assaults on mediapersons are dime a dozen. In the latest attack, a rural reporter of Asomiya Pratidin, Prasanta Kumar, was shot in his left shoulder on June 18. He survived.
The last death was that of Raihanul Naiyyum in 2012, in a mob attack a month after joining as a reporter for a local daily in Dhubri town.
The worst years for journalists and newspaper owners in Assam were from 2003 to 2009.
This period claimed the lives of six mediapersons, including five correspondents and a newspaper owner.
While 35 journalists have been killed in Assam since 1990, there have been no prosecutions till date.
As Nava Thakuria, secretary of Journalists’ Federation of Assam says: “If you have harboured a desire to kill anyone without the law catching you, come to Assam and shoot or stab or burn or behead a journalist.”
