Militants of the Hindu nationalist Shiv Sena Party attacked three journalists of the Marathi-language daily Mahanagar in Malvan, Maharashtra State in the west of the country on 28 August. The editor Nikhil Wagle (photo) and two journalists Yuvraj Mohite and Pramod Nirgudkar were beaten and sprayed with petrol by a crowd of rioters in the street.
The editor Nikhil Wagle accused Narayan Rane, local leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and former Maharashtra chief minister of being behind the attacks, during a demonstration against the violence. Wagle denied all involvement. Reporters Without Borders condemned these latest attacks on journalists working for Mahanagar, which has a secular editorial line.
