Journalist assaulted by Goa cruise operator

A journalist Saturday complained to the police claiming he was assaulted and his camera smashed by a river cruise operator while filming a news story here.

In his complaint filed in the Panaji police station Anil Laad, editor of InGoa News, a local cable news channel, claimed that he had received information about a minor accident at the river jetty, which is a boarding/alighting area for evening river cruises along the Mandovi river, when he was assaulted by Aakash Madgavkar, who runs a cruise boat operation in Panaji.

"He asked me to get off the jetty, claiming entry was restricted in the area. He then grabbed my camera, flung it aside and tried to assault me," Laad said in his complaint filed Saturday afternoon.

While the accused could not be contacted, his father Anand Madgavkar did not deny the incident, but told IANS that the journalist had "interfered during a safety drill" which was being undertaken by the river cruise operator at the time.

Madgavkar, however, did not comment about the camera-grabbing nor the attempted assault.

The Goa Union of Journalists, a local body of media representatives, has condemned the assault.

Panaji police said that they were still examining the complaint.