North Lakhimpur: Less than 24 hours after the Assam assembly polls, the North Lakhimpur office of leading Assamese daily Asomiya Pratidin came under attack by unidentified miscreants in the early hours of Friday, causing damage to the office premises.
According to reports, the incident occurred when the attackers targeted the office by stone pelting. Parts of the building were vandalised, resulting in damage to property and leaving the premises in disarray.
However, no injuries have been reported in the incident.
Sources associated with the publication indicated that the newspaper’s editorial stance and principles may have caused discomfort to certain sections, though no official confirmation regarding the motive has been made.
Notably, this is not the first such incident involving the newspaper. On March 25, miscreants allegedly intercepted a vehicle carrying copies of Asomiya Pratidin in Sivasagar district, seized the newspapers, and set them on fire after stopping the vehicle.
The back-to-back incidents have raised concerns over press freedom and the safety of media establishments in the region.
Meanwhile, the authorities of Asomiya Pratidin’s Lakhimpur edition have filed an FIR at the Khelmati Police Outpost regarding the incident. There has been widespread public condemnation of the attack on the newspaper office in North Lakhimpur.