Muslim Mob Storms Newspaper Offices

(Gulbarga, India) Yesterday, a mob of angry Muslims attacked and ransacked the offices of Samyukta Karnataka daily newspaper, injuring three employees. The circulation manager, Vilas Deshpande (right), suffered a significant head wound and is hospitalized in serious condition.

The Muslims reportedly were protesting because the newspaper "had published indecent allegations and used vulgar words" against a local Islamic leader known as Shaik-e-Deccan. The allegations published concerned some "undesirable activities" identified in a memo to the police.

Executive Editor of the newspaper Srikantacharya Mannur, who was an eyewitness to the incident, said that about 15 persons shouting slogans against the newspapers started assaulting the staff in the front office where the circulation and advertisement departments functioned.

The mob tried to storm into the editorial and the computer room before the other staff pushed them out of the main door.

“We were taken by surprise at the attack and initially we were not aware of the reason for the attack and nobody in the crowd was in a position to hear us. Nobody told us why they were protesting,” Mr. Mannur said.

The mob damaged a four-wheeler that belonged to the daily and damaged the vehicles parked in front of the newspaper office before being chased away by the police. The police picked up seven persons in connection with the attack from a building in front of the newspaper office.

Muslims also demonstrated at the Deputy Commissioner's office and submitted a letter demanding the newspaper be closed down since their religious sentiments had been hurt. In opposition, the journalists' union demonstrated with a demand that newspapers and journalists be protected.

Gulbarga is a city in southern India between Hyderabad and Mumbai with a population of approximately 500,000.