Three killed in attack on Indian newspaper
INDIA: Three newspaper employees died on Wednesday when their
office was set ablaze by supporters of a politician angered by a survey
which showed his popularity was low, officials said.
Scores of people armed with stones and petrol bombs attacked the
office of Tamil-language daily Dinakaran, which published the survey, in
the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
Two engineers and a security guard died of suffocation, unable to
escape because protesters had locked the building, district collector
S.S Jawahar told reporters in Madurai district, where the attack took
place.
“We have recovered the bodies,” the official said.
Protests also erupted in other parts of the state, of which Chennai
(formerly Madras) is the capital.
The protesters were upset over the findings of a survey published by
the newspaper that showed little support for their leader M.K. Azhagiri,
but high ratings for his brother and bitter rival in state politics.
Both political leaders are the sons of Tamil Nadu’s chief minister and
popular leader K. Karunanidhi, and are seen as his possible successors.
Mob violence because of political loyalties is not uncommon in Tamil
Nadu.
This year, a court sentenced three political workers to death and 25
others to jail terms for a firebomb attack on a bus that killed three
students after an opposition party protested over the conviction of
their leader in a corruption case seven years ago.
Chennai, Thursday, AFP |