A journalist with a regional daily was attacked by a group of persons in Jalgaon district, police said on Thursday. Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Vijay Wadettiwar and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut condemned the attack and alleged that ‘goons’ of local Shiv Sena MLA Kishor Patil were behind it. However, Patil denied the charge and said he had no connection with the incident, which took place in Pachora at Jalgaon on Wednesday afternoon. The journalist, Sandeep Mahajan, had reported a case of rape and murder of a minor girl in Pachora and criticised Chief Minister Eknath Shinde over the incident.

Legislator denies connection

An audio clip recently went viral on social media wherein Pachora legislator Patil was purportedly heard abusing the journalist. Patil said, “I had verbally abused him (Mahajan) as there were strong reasons for it. However, I have no connection with the attack that has taken place. I was in Mumbai when the incident occurred. I do not support this attack.”