Rajbiraj, February 9:

A group led by a Maoist activist Ajay Chaudhari allegedly manhandled two staffers of a daily, including a reporter, and vandalised a motorcycle belonging to the daily at Kalyanpur of Saptari today.

Reporter of Rajbiraj Today, Krishna Dev Yadav, and manager Dharmapal Raut were on their way to Lahan carrying newspapers when they were accosted and thrashed by the group, said the managing-director of Compact Communication Private Limited and publisher of the daily, Pawan Kumar Mishra.

Chaudhari and his group were organising a chakkajam at Kalyanpur without any prior notice, demanding a guarantee of the rights of the Tharu community. Dharmapal Raut said they were attacked for driving a motorcycle during the chakkajam. He added that the attackers also snatched 500 copies of the newspaper.

The Maoists’ Saptari secretary Amar said he was unaware of the incident. He said the incident will be probed.

Meanwhile, president of the Saptari chapter of the FNJ, Shambhu Jha, condemned the manhandling and demanded action against the guilty. Over 300 passengers were stranded all day long due to the chakkajam at Kalyanpur.