Journalist Sneha Barwe was attacked on television — beaten with a wooden stick until she fainted — while reporting on unauthorised construction along a riverbed in Nighotwadi village of Manchar, Pune district of Maharashtra. The incident, reportedly, took place on July 4, and ten days later, the main accused in the case is still on the run.
The 29-year-old independent digital outfit Samarth Bharat founder-editor was hospitalised for three days following the attack. The medical reports, reportedly, indicate that she had severe injuries on the back of her head and lower back after she was struck.
She displayed indications of bleeding internally, had seizures, and was vomiting. She couldn't speak or sit up, and at first did not have the ability to respond verbally, according to the reports.
A footage of the incident went viral on social media when it was released online last week. However, this is not the first time the journalist has been threatened for reporting.
It has been learnt that in February, she was pestered near her office after reporting on bad road conditions in her home village of Chas-Narodi. In July 2024, she accused Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil, a former MP, of making a threatening phone call to her after she wrote about him in a negative light. She registered a complaint at Manchar police station on grounds of intimidation.
Referring to the recent attack, Barwe alleged, "I had been tipped off on unauthorised building around the riverbed. People said it might cause flooding in case of heavy rain, so I thought I should cover it… I had spoken to residents and was just about to record a piece-to-camera when I was struck vigorously on the rear of my head with a stick. I fainted."
The men constructing it also attacked people attempting to assist me. I got hospitalised and was released a couple of days later. But doctors have asked me to rest and avoid talking much.
Barwe identified her principal assailant as Pandurang Morade, a history-sheeter who owns two liquor bars in the vicinity, has a murder case against him, and has been accused of encroachment several times. He also has political party connections and was a past Manchar City president of undivided Shiv Sena.
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A case has been booked by the police against Morade, his sons Prashant and Nilesh, and six others. Although Morade's sons are part of the five arrested till now, he has not been taken into custody.
Police inspector Srikant Kankal said in an interview: "We have arrested five accused and will soon apprehend the remaining one. They have been booked under sections 118(1), 115(2), 189(2), 191(2), 190, and 351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita." The sections deal with voluntarily causing hurt, unlawful assembly, rioting and criminal intimidation.
Barwe said Pandurang is "a repeat offender who had been previously booked for attempted murder and murder. He's out on bail but still behaves with impunity. The police have lodged a joint FIR for everyone who was assaulted that day. But they have not filed serious charges like attempted murder against him."
She further added that this was her second physical attack in a span of six months. "In February, there were some men who threatened me outside my office after I wrote an article on the bad road conditions in Chas-Narodi. They attempted to slap me, hurled slippers at me. I went straight to the police and filed an FIR."
Barwe is not deterred. "I have been threatened and attacked just for doing stories on local issues. But I will not be intimidated…I am concentrating on recovering from the injuries, but once I get better, I will be back on the beat doing my work."
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