TV journalist stabbed in restaurant, four detained
Guwahati, Mar 22: A journalist of a news TV channel was attacked with knives and seriously injured in an attack in a restaurant Ganeshguri locality here, police said Friday.
Chakrapani Parashar, a journalist of satellite news channel News18/AssamNE, was stabbed by some workers of a restaurant adjacent to his office when he was on duty on Thursday night, police said.
Police have detained four accused in connection with the attack.
Parashar sustained serious injuries in various parts of his body and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he is stated to be out of danger, News 18/Assam NE editor Sanjoy Paul said.
Trouble began on Thursday afternoon when Parashar went with his unit to cover a fight between the main accused, who runs a restaurant in the same building as the news channel and some youths while playing Holi, News18 Assam/NE Deputy Manager (Operations) Aparup Barua said.
"Though the news was not telecast, the restaurant owner started an argument with Parashar for covering the incident. In the evening when about five to six of our journalists, including Parashar, went to the restaurant to settle the matter amicably, the accused took out a dagger and stabbed him repeatedly," Barua said.
The accused has a criminal record and was arrested earlier too, he said.
Various political parties - national and regional and journalists organisations have condemned the attack on Parashar.
The Electronic Media Forum Assam (EMFA) has expressed concern over the attack and demanded stringent actions against the culprits. It also urged the state government to ensure security to media persons by enacting a special protection law at the earliest.
In a statement here on Friday, EMFA claimed that increasing instances of physical assaults are being reported from various parts of the country and the Centre should take the matter seriously.
It also appealed to all media persons across the country to be united over the issue.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
