Attacks on media increasing

Attacks on media by unknown groups have been on the rise in the last few days with the government failing to turn its ear to control them.

Office of the Chandra Rai, distributor of the Himalmedia, at Maitighar was ransacked by eight masked men in ‘terrorist style’ on Sunday night.

According to Himalmedia, 20-25 more attackers provided additional support to the eight men by forming an outer ring. They burnt most of the subscriber copies of this month's Himal Khabarpatrika by spraying petrol on the magazine bundles.

They threatened to kill the four distribution boys, cut off all the land phone lines and looted three mobile phones.

In an earlier incident about a month back on October 24, CEO of Himalmedia, Ashutosh Tiwari, was attacked by two unidentified men in motorcycles who threw rocks into a van that was bringing him to the office. Tiwari and the driver, Rajiv Baniya were unhurt, but the van suffered a smashed window.

Similarly, an unknown group vandalized the eastern regional office of Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS) in Biratnagar, Thursday. Two persons who came on a motorcycle had smashed the windowpanes of RSS building.

Additionally, member of Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) Sindupalchok chapter Dinest Thapa and Sindhu Prabhaha weekly journalist Netra Poudel was manhandled on Wednesday by agitators who had called vehicular strike on that day.

Banda organisers had manhandled Thapa and Poudel who were at the venue to collect news of the Arniko Highway bandha. nepalnews.com ia Nov 17 08