Coimbatore, Sept 24: A reporter of a leading Tamil daily, who had gone to cover the farmers' grievances day, was allegedly assaulted by revenue officials at the meeting hall at nearby Tirupur yesterday.
A senior revenue official started abusing the reporter, Manikandan, representing 'Dinamani', as soon as he entered the meeting hall. As the journalist was explaining, some officials started assaulting him, in which his spectacles were broken and shirt torn. He suffered injuries in the incident, the daily sources said.
The scribe was then "forcibly taken" by the officials and handed over at the police station, where he was "detained" for some hours, the sources said.
As other reporters in Tirupur started protesting and condemning the incident, the officials initiated a dialogue with them.
The Coimbatore Press Club strongly condemned the assault, saying that it was unfortunate that the officials had taken the law into their own hands rather than seeking legal action, if they had any complaints against the reporter.
It sought action against the revenue officials and the police for the "gross violation of legal provisions relating to human rights".
