A television channel reporter was brutally attacked with sickles near Palladam, Tirupur district, Tamil Nadu, on Wednesday night around 9 45 pm.
Thirty-year-old Nesaprabhu is in critical condition and is battling for his life in a private hospital in Coimbatore. The incident sent shockwaves in the state, especially among journalists. Journalists protested across Tamil Nadu on Thursday, including Chennai and Coimbatore, and demanded that action be taken against the accused. Meanwhile, Opposition leader Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS), TN BJP leader K Annamalai, Pattali Makkal Katchi, and other politicians condemned the DMK government and stated that there was a ‘breakdown of law and order situation’ in Tamil Nadu.
Nesaprabhu, a journalist working with News 7 Tamil TV, was returning home on Wednesday night when six men, armed with sickles and knives, waylaid him on the main road in Palladam while he was on the phone pleading with the police for help. He sustained 62 cuts on his head, chest, arms and legs and was rushed to a local hospital before being admitted in Coimbatore.
It is reported that Nesaprabhu had spoken to the police several times on Wednesday complaining that a gang of men had been following him for several days and he felt his life was threatened. Some men in SUVs and bikes had been enquiring where he lived and the TV reporter had informed the police of this as well. However, the police didn’t take any action and told him there wouldn’t be any problem. The audio of these conversations with the police are out on social media now.
Nesaprabhu had recently reported about the illegal sale of liquor happening at the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited (TASMAC) liquor shop in the Kamanaickenpalayam area. He felt this was the reason the unidentified men were following men and had conveyed this to the police as well.
EPS took to his social media on Thursday to condemn the attack and stated the police were ‘complacent’. He wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “The incident of journalist Nesaprabhu being brutally attacked in Palladam of Tiruppur district is shocking. Nesaprabhu continuously complained to the police that there was a fearful situation that unknown people would attack him and informed them four hours before the attack. The police of this government acted with complacency without taking any action is highly condemnable.”
“Today’s murderous attack on a journalist is the result of my constant pointing out that there is already an unsafe situation for the public in Tamil Nadu due to law-and-order disorders, but no action was taken. I pray to the almighty God for the speedy recovery of the injured journalist Nesaprabhu….,” he added.