Two journalists were thrashed and held hostage for exposing an alleged nexus in the Regional Transport Office (RTO) Department in Indore district of Madhya Pradesh on Friday.
The journalist has been identified as Hemant Sharma, who is associated with a national news channel. Sharma, along with his cameraman, Raja Sharma, was held hostage for hours by a mob in Indore.
Assailants also broke the camera and mic of the cameraman while he was covering a news report. The incident came to the fore after a short video of the incident surfaced on social media.
The viral video shows over half a dozen men thrashing Hemant Sharma and cameraman Raja Sharma in Indore. Some men are seen thrashing the journalists while others were trying to stop the accused persons.
Upon learning of the incident, local area police swung into action and rescued the journalists. They have been rushed to a hospital for medical treatment.
The attack comes a week after they exposed a strong nexus in the RTO Department in Madhya Pradesh.
Confirming the report, a senior TV journalist told IANS that police took quick action and rescued both of them. Police have also registered a case on the basis of their statements.
Responding to the incident, Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari criticised the BJP government in the state, alleging that a journalist was attacked for exposing corruption in the state.
Targeting Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, Patwari wrote on X, "General public and journalists are being targeted, while brokers and mafias are thriving in your government. This situation is both shameful and worrisome."
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh BJP media in-charge Ashish Agarwal said that the state government has taken cognisance of the matter and strict action will be taken against the accused persons.
"The government and the BJP have taken cognisance of the matter and assure a swift and transparent action," Agarwal wrote on X.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
