Alarm bell for Nitish as another scribe threatened in Bihar

The Bihar Government, which has assured to protect the fourth pillar of democracy in wake of the killing of a scribe in Siwan, faced yet another embarrassing moment yesterday as a journalist with leading Hindi daily Prabhat Khabar was kidnapped after being threatened by a local contractor.

Journalist Hemant Thakur was yesterday kidnapped from his residence in Bihar's Araria district by a local contractor named Haji Laddan for not writing a news report in his favour.

According to reports, Laddan kidnapped Thakur and took him to the Sadar Hospital where he first thrashed the journalist and then locked him inside a room. The contractor also gave a knife to a patient and told him to kill Thakur if he tries to escape.

Thakur then screamed for help after which the hospital staff came and rescued him.

In the recent past, many such incidents where journalists were murdered or received death threats have been recorded in Bihar. Last week, Rajesh Singh, a journalist with a Hindi daily, lodged an FIR at the Laheri Police Station against Janata Dal (United) MLC Hira Vind after receiving death threats.

42-year-old Rajdeo Ranjan was earlier allegedly shot dead by criminals near the Siwan railway station.

Two bullets were fired at the Siwan bureau chief of Hindi daily Hindustan that hit him on his head and neck. He was shifted to a hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead.