While the motive of the assault on Punjabi radio host in Calgary is still not clear, Rishi Nagar, who is news director and talk show host for RedFM in Calgary, called it an attack on the freedom of the press. Calgary police confirmed they are investigating the attack outside the Rio Banquet Hall on Sunday, September 29, located in the 2800 block of Hopewell Place N.E., adding they’re looking for two suspects, who are believed to be captured by police but their identities have not been released.

By DESIBUZZCanada

CALGARY – While the motive of the assault on Punjabi radio host in Calgary is still not clear, Rishi Nagar, who is news director and talk show host for RedFM in Calgary, called it an attack on the freedom of the press.

Calgary police confirmed they are investigating the attack outside the Rio Banquet Hall on Sunday, September 29, located in the 2800 block of Hopewell Place N.E., adding they’re looking for two suspects, who are believed to be captured by police but their identities have not been released.

Staff Sgt. John Guigon said Nagar was struck in the head, and that the incident was captured on video. 

“It was not a pleasant situation,” he said.

“[It is] particularly troubling to us when a member of the media gets attacked in a democracy…. We’re throwing resources at it.

Guigon said police are investigating whether the assault on Nagar is connected to his reporting on another incident last week outside the Dashmesh Culture Centre, located in the 100 block of Gurdwara Sahib Boulevard N.E.

At around 8 p.m. on Sept. 24, Guigon said, police received multiple calls from citizens indicating there were two men brandishing guns in the centre’s parking lot.

He said after police arrived, the two men were arrested and two firearms were recovered. The pair face multiple charges, he said.

Nagar, who spoke to the media on Tuesday with bandages over one eye, called the incident a “clear attack on journalism and the free press.”

He said the assault won’t silence or prevent him and his colleagues from continuing their work as journalists.

“They can break my eye, not my resolve,” Nagar said on Tuesday.

Nagar added that doctors have told him he’s at risk for retinal detachment and choroidal rupture, after the incident.