NEW DELHI: The number of attacks on journalists plunged from 41 in 2016 to 15 last year, dropping by more than half, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.
As many as 67 people were arrested for 62 incidents of attacks on journalists in different parts of the country in the last two years, Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, the Union minister of state for home, told the Upper House.
There were 15 attacks on journalists and 26 arrests in 2017, down 63 per cent from 41 such attacks the previous year, in which 47 people were arrested, Ahir said.
The highest number of incidents last year were reported from Rajasthan — a BJP-ruled state — where 22 people were arrested for three such attacks, followed by Kerala, where two persons were arrested for a single assault, the junior home minister said.
In 2016, Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of attacks with 24 cases and 14 arrests, followed by Andhra Pradesh with nine arrests made from six incidents, Ahir added. (AGENCIES)
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