Mumbai: On August 4, a journalist from Mahatashtra’s Pachora town in Jalgaon district put out a video explainer of a recent incident of rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl. In the video, journalist and editor of the YouTube channel Dhyeya News, Sandeep Mahajan, spoke at length about the incident and the police’s efforts in searching the girl child the day she went missing and then finally nabbing the culprit.Explaining the dastardly incident further and the political responses that it garnered, Mahajan also went on to criticise Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde and claimed his meeting with the victim’s family was merely an “eyewash”. The chief minister should have done more, he expressed in the video.A few days later, Mahajan was assaulted by three men, allegedly close aides of local MLA Kishor Patil, who is now part of ruling Shinde’s Shiv Sena. A video that went viral on social media showed three men assaulting Mahajan while he was on his bike. The three men, the police confirmed, were booked under the Indian Penal Code sections for assault and criminal intimidation. Rahul Khatal, the police inspector of the Pachora police station, confirmed that the accused persons were released on bail the same day.The police, however, have also initiated “chapter proceedings” against the accused. Chapter proceedings are preventive action under Section 107 of the Code of Criminal Procedure where the police can serve a show cause notice asking the person to give reasons why he should not be executed a bond for keeping the peace.Mahajan was assaulted after he was allegedly verbally abused by the MLA over a phone call. The conversation between Patil and Mahajan too has been circulated widely on social media. In the alleged phone conversation, Patil can be heard abusing Mahajan for criticising the chief minister.Mahajan told The Wire that the assault would not have happened if the police had acted on his complaint against the MLA. “Patil can be clearly heard abusing me and also threatening me. Within days, I was assaulted. The men are known supporters of Patil and are seen in public meetings around him,” Mahajan claimed. The police have, however, not initiated any action against Patil.“We have received complaints from both parties,” Khatal told The Wire.Khatal shared that since the incident of rape and murder of a minor girl in Kondgaon village, the region has remained tense. “The brutality of the incident left the villagers agitated and there have since been sporadic protests and violence in the village. We have been handling that and have been focusing on completing the investigation on time,” Khatal told The Wire.Khatal also added that while the incident of the attack on Mahajan was of “serious concern”, the police resources was focused on investigating the murder.Meanwhile, the attack on Mahajan has attracted reactions both nationally and internationally. The International Federation of Journalists, a global union federation of journalists’ trade unions, has condemned the attack on Mahajan.“IJU condemns the attack on Jalgaon Maharashtra journalist Sandeep Mahajan by supporters of local Shiv Sena MLA Kishore Patil for his critical report of rape and murder of a girl. IJU demands stern action against the attackers of the journalist,” the federation said in its statement.The attack on Mahajan is not a standalone case. According to the Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG), a total of 194 journalists, including seven women journalists, were targeted across India in 2022. These journalists were targeted by state agencies, non-state political actors, criminals, and armed opposition groups.Jammu and Kashmir (48) witnessed the highest number of incidents where journalists were targeted, followed by Telangana (40).
