New Delhi, 10 February 2024: The Indian Journalists Union strongly condemns the attack on Maharashtra’s noted and senior journalist Nikhil Wagle in Pune on Friday by some persons reportedly belonging to a political party. The Union demanded that the culprits be brought to book immediately. 

According to media reports the car in which Wagle was travelling to attend an event was attacked by some persons, allegedly of a political party who were said to be peeved by an opinion expressed by him on a social media platform. Earlier, FIRs were registered against Wagle under sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups), 500 (defamation) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Vishrambaug police station. 

In a statement, IJU President and former member of Press Council of India Geetartha Pathak and IJU Secretary General and Vice President of International Federation of Journalists Sabina Inderjit said the attack on Wagle was an assault on press freedom and a bid to stifle freedom of speech and expression. Further, the FIRs filed against him are yet another case of misusing the laws to harass and intimidate journalists. The law enforcing agencies must exercise restraint as well as the Pune administration and Maharashtra government must book the guilty who attacked his car. Safety and security of journalists must be paramount.