Woman journalist attacked in Nepal
Attacks on a woman journalist and a TV news crew in two separate incidents within five days have again brought into focus the threat posed to journalists in Nepal, reports Utpal Parashar.
Attacks on a woman journalist and a TV news crew in two separate incidents within five days have again brought into focus the threat posed to journalists in Nepal.
Tika Bista, a correspondent of the Kathmandu-based Rajdhani daily, was allegedly attacked by a group of people with sharp weapons near her home in Rukum district of western Nepal on Tuesday.
Reports say that the journalist had called her colleague Dhanbir Dahal minutes before the accident saying that three men were following her. “I tried to call her back, but her mobile was switched off,” he told local journalists.
According to reports, an unconscious Tika was found with wound marks on her body on a steep hill. Her smashed laptop and mobile were found nearby. She was airlifted to Kathmandu on Wednesday for further treatment.
The woman journalist, who writes on social evils and plight of women, had allegedly received death threats on her phone and had informed the police and district administration about them.
Several media organisations and associations including the Federation of Nepali Journalists have condemned the attack and sought prompt action against those guilty of assaulting Bista.
In another incident, a group of Maoist supporters had attacked a TV new channel crew and damaged their vehicle during the daylong nationwide strike called by the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) on Sunday.
The fresh attacks have brought into focus the threat posed by journalists working in Nepal, a country which saw an end to a 10 year civil war in 2006, but where peace is yet to make home.x