113 attacks on journalists in 2014, UP tops with 63: Govt

New Delhi, Aug 4

A total of 113 cases of lethal attacks on journalists were reported from across the country in 2014, the Central Government told the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

Uttar Pradesh, at 63 cases, topped the list, Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary said in a written reply in Lok Sabha, citing statistics recorded by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). He added that the bureau had begun collecting data of attack on press people since 2014.

Ten of the 30 arrests made in such cases were from Madhya Pradesh — the highest for any state in 2014.

At 22 attacks, Bihar came second. Madhya Pradesh registered seven such attacks; Maharashtra, 5; Andhra Pradesh, 4; Jharkhand and Gujarat, 3 each; and Assam and Tripura, 2 each.

Maharashtra registered six arrests; Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, 4 each; and Bihar, 3.

No such cases were registered in any of the Union Territories, while the bureau had no records from West Bengal, the minister said, adding there was no proposal to set up a special task force to investigate attack on journalists.

"The provisions of security to an individual is primarily the responsibility of the state government in whose jurisdiction such individual ordinarily resides...there is no separate categorisation for journalists/media persons, although individual journalists/media persons are also among those who apply for security cover," he said. — PTI