GUWAHATI
An assailant shot and injured a journalist of a Nagaland-based satellite news channel in Laii village of Manipur’s Senapati district on Saturday (August 30, 2025) evening.
Dip Saikia, a reporter with Hornbill TV, was covering a flower festival. He sustained bullet wounds in the armpit and a leg.
While the villagers caught the assailant, a youth, the reporter was rushed to a local hospital. A first information report (FIR) was filed at the nearest police station.
Condemning the attack, Hornbill TV editor Dzuthono Mekro said shooting a reporter while covering a cultural event was not only an assault on the person but also on press freedom and democratic values.
“Such violence against media professionals cannot and must not be tolerated in a society that values justice, transparency, and accountability,” she said, expressing deep concern over the growing hostility, intimidation, harassment, or violence journalists face in the region for carrying out their professional duties.
She urged the governments of Nagaland and Manipur, law enforcement agencies and all relevant authorities to ensure a thorough, impartial investigation into this heinous attack.
Ms. Mekro demanded that the assailant and any accomplices be swiftly brought to justice to send a strong message that crimes against journalists will not go unpunished.
A few days ago, Nagaland’s Deputy Chief Minister Yanthungo Patton had berated Mr. Saikia at a public event for asking a critical question on the eviction drive in Assam. Mr. Patton handles the Home portfolio.
Published – August 31, 2025 03:50 am IST
