Guwahati: Media houses in Manipur are on the verge of halting news publications as the Manipur Journalists Union prepares for a crucial meeting on Monday. Sources indicate that all media houses in the state have already stopped publishing news starting today, a formal announcement of the decision is awaited.
An emergency general body meeting has been convened between the All Manipur Working Journalists’ Union (AMWJU) and the Editors’ Guild Manipur (EGM). This decision comes in the wake of a joint emergency meeting held by the organizations and editors on Sunday night. The move is believed to be in response to the brutal assault and abduction of Image TV reporter Kumar Nongthombam by heavily armed assailants on the midnight of February 23.
Hailing from Huikap Mayai Leikai, the 39-year-old reporter was residing in a rented room in Wangkhei, Imphal East. Reports suggest that he was brutally assaulted in his room before being forcibly taken away. AMWJU members, during their search for him, discovered Kumar critically injured within an office building on the DM University campus. Two members of a non-governmental organization (NGO) facilitated his handover to AMWJU and ensured his admission to a hospital for urgent medical attention.
According to a report by Imphal times, the assailants allegedly set fire to Kumar’s rented accommodation, shared with two students who were fortunately absent at the time. Personal belongings of Kumar, including his salary, a laptop, a camera, and valuable documents and books belonging to the students, were reduced to ashes.
Local residents informed journalists covering the incident about a reporter named Kumar staying in one of the rooms. Initial attempts to locate him proved fruitless until members of a civil society organization (CSO) directed them to the injured reporter inside the DM university complex. According to Kumar, unidentified armed individuals forcibly entered his room, assaulted him without provocation, and disregarded his press credentials, discarding them into the fire. Blindfolded and beaten, he recounted being moved to another room by a CSO member familiar with him.
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The assault on Kumar has sparked outrage within the journalist community, with both the Manipur Working Journalists’ Union (AMWJU) and the Editors’ Guild Manipur (EGM) strongly condemning the brutal assault.
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