Supporters of the head of a local dargah in Gulbarga attacked the office of Kannada daily Samyukta Karnataka on Friday and assaulted the staff. Three employees of the newspaper were severely injured, the Hindu has reported.
The daily’s circulation manager Vilas Deshpande, who suffered serious head injuries, has been admitted to the Government General Hospital, and his condition stated to be serious.
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Executive Editor of the newspaper Srikantacharya Mannur, who was an eyewitness to the incident, said that about 15 persons shouting slogans against the newspapers started assaulting the staff in the front office where the circulation and advertisement departments functioned.
The mob tried to storm into the editorial and the computer room before the other staff pushed them out of the main door.
“We were taken by surprise at the attack and initially we were not aware of the reason for the attack and nobody in the crowd was in a position to hear us. Nobody told us why they were protesting,†Mr. Mannur said.
The mob damaged a four-wheeler that belonged to the daily and damaged the vehicles parked in front of the newspaper office before being chased away by the police. The police picked up seven persons in connection with the attack from a building in front of the newspaper office.
