Online channel owner beaten up

A man running his own online news channel was beaten up with rods by around half-a-dozen men in Karnal, causing serious injuries in an attack a week ago. Five persons have been arrested in this connection, said the police.

One of the accused, Gurmeet alias Ghelu, had allegedly threatened the victim, Akarshan Uppal, six months ago for reporting about the arrest of his brother in a drug-peddling case.

Akarshan and his colleague Rinku were returning from a reporting assignment on December 7 when Gurmeet and his accomplices, accosted the duo near a canal on Kaithal Road and allegedly attacked them.

Hit on the head

Akarshan was hit on the head and the right hand. During the attack, Gurmeet shouted that the duo would be taught a lesson for being journalists. The assailants allegedly tried to push Akarshan into the canal, but they ran away after Rinku raised an alarm, said the FIR.

Rinku told The Hindu over phone that he along with Akarshan had reported about the arrest of a drug-peddler in Karnal in June.

The accused later died in the judicial custody following which Gurmeet, the deceased’s brother, allegedly threatened to eliminate Akarshan and his family. Some locals tried to intervene into the matter and resolve it, but a FIR was later registered in the connection, said Rinku.