Till the other day he was welcomed wherever and whenever he went. He even dominated prime time bulletins in the Prime News apart from hitting headlines in the vernacular dailies including Niyomiya Barta and Dainik Janasadharan.
But the things keep changing. Now he is unwanted and that’ why, neglected. Yes, we are talking of Diganta Chetia. The local journalist from Ledo is leading an uncomfortable life. His worries bubbled up since a gang of coal thieves attacked his near cinema hall a couple of years back. But why? Why he was mercilessly beaten up? It was on July 6, 2011. He prepared a story on coal smuggling from Ledo for a private satellite news channel. He was attacked with rod and bamboo and before being dumped near the railway track.
His family members spent lakhs of rupees in the name of his treatment. Even a plot of agricultural land was sold for it. His father told Assam Times that except Debrata Bordoloi(Dhan) nobody paid even a single paise for his son’s treatment. Bordoloi who is the elder brother of power minister Pradyut Bordoloi paid Rs 20,000 for treatment. The district administration has not paid anything for Diganta not to speak of the people in the distant Dispur. The answer is obvious.
What wrong goes with Diganta? He did only his duty. Defying all diktats, he tried to exposed the illegal coal trade in the area much to a major embarrassment for many people. Is it wrong? But still the Chetias want uncompromising journalism. Is it the way a serious journalist is allowed to live? Over to Dispur.
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