Attack on Pune journalist Sneha Barve: She was beaten with rods for reporting on land grab, says father

The Print

15-07-2025

Describing the incident in a conversation with ThePrint on the phone, Sneha's father, Dattatray Barve said, 'The local gundas had illegally taken over a plot of land near the riverbed. Sneha went there to report on the issue. They came from behind and hit her very badly. She fell to the ground but locals saved her and carried her to the hospital.'
The incident took place on 4 July, but it was only after a video of the attack went viral that there has been public outrage. The video shows Sneha, the editor of Samarth Bharat newspaper and SBP Youtube channel, lying on the ground while a few men assault her.
New Delhi: Sneha Barve, a 27-year-old journalist, was reporting on land grab and illegal construction of tin sheds in Nighotwadi village in Ambegaon taluka of Pune district, when she was brutally assaulted with rods, causing serious injuries on her arms, back and head.
Shrikant Kankar, a senior police inspector at the Manchar Police Station told ThePrint that an FIR was filed the night of the incident, and that five people were arrested and later released after they were granted bail. 'The main accused (Pandurang Morde) was not arrested because he is admitted in the hospital for surgery in his foot,' he said.
An FIR with sections 118 (2), 115 (2), 189 (2), 191 (2), 190 and 351 (2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, retaining to grievous hurt, intimidation, unlawful assembly and intimidation, which attract a maximum punishment of between one to two years only, were filed.
Sneha's father Dattatray told ThePrint that during her reporting on the land grab, Sneha had not accused anyone in particular. 'In fact, when one of the accused stood there while she was recording the video, she even asked him to share his opinion on the whole issue,' he said, adding that her microphone was snatched from her before the brutal attack.
Dattatray was informed about the incident some time after the assault. On reaching the local D.Y. Patil hospital, he said that he found her in a serious condition. 'Sneha has been working as a journalist for at least eight years. A few times before as well, people had threatened her but she continued doing her work fearlessly,' he said.
He said Sneha would continue to report on the case as soon as she recovered. 'We are not going to be scared. We support her passion for reporting,' said Dattatray, a father of three daughters. 'This violence against journalists should be stopped. Reporters don't deserve it.'
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Attack on press freedom
As per the FIR report, 69-year-old farmer Sudhakar Baburao Kale from Ambegaon, Pune, had accused several individuals of attempting to illegally seize his 0.9 acres of agricultural land which is currently under litigation.
Kale has said that one Vishwas Bhingari Thosar and his associates, including Pandurang Sitaram More, Sanjay Thosar, and Prashant More, have repeatedly tried to take unlawful possession of the land. 'We will kill you if you don't withdraw the court case and stop working on the land,' the FIR quotes the accused as telling Kale and his family.
Despite the land being under judicial dispute, the accused allegedly ploughed and prepared the land for sugarcane cultivation. On 4 July 2025, Kale witnessed Pandurang More and others leveling the land using tractors.
As per the FIR, he brought Sneha to the spot to document the act. 'She then took pictures on her mobile phone and recorded a video, which they tried to stop. They warned her not to report it or post it on any media platforms,' says Kale, who added that the accused also threatened to kill him, his son and his wife, if he didn't withdraw the case and stop claiming ownership of the land.
The violence against the young female journalist has been condemned by senior journalists and coalitions advocating freedom of speech and journalists.
Expressing anger over the attack on Sneha, the Network of Women in Media India (NWMI) demanded the immediate arrest of the assailant on charges of attempt to murder. 'Morde, who has a criminal record, is already out on bail in an attempt to murder case. He is a local businessman, allegedly having close ties to the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra. Thus far, there has been no condemnation of this attack on a journalist from the Maharashtra government,' the statement read. NWMI added that it was 'shocking' that more 'serious charges' were not applied in the case.
'Sneha Barve, who has faced threats for her reporting earlier, too, must not end up as an addition to these abysmal figures,' the statement added.
In a statement against the attack, the 'Free Speech Collective', an independent initiative advocating for freedom of expression and press freedom, wrote that the attack against Sneha 'typifies' the fragile state of press freedom, 'especially in district areas where journalists are subject to immediate and violent reprisal if they dare to report on corruption and illegal activities by local powers.'
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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