Journalist attacked during second phase polls in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: In yet another attempt to throttle the voice of media, supporters of a political party allegedly attacked a journalist while covering second phase polls at a booth in Kantamala of Boudh district on Thursday. The matter came to fore after the journalist today met the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Odisha and lodged a complaint.

Shambhu Prasad Sethi, working as a journalist with a web channel, alleged that supporters of a political party and the Booth Level Officer (BLO) snatched his microphone and camera while he was covering an alleged booth capturing incident live. He was also allegedly beaten up by the attackers.

"After getting information that some people have captured a booth in Kantamala, I reached the spot to cover the incident. While performing my duty, some locals along with the BLO attacked me and broke my equipment including camera," alleged Sethi.

Comments from the Booth Level Officer on the incident could not be obtained despite repeated attempts.