A heated altercation between two local journalists in Banke has become a police case after one of them allegedly set two thugs on the other on Sunday.

Sangin Sharma, the executive editor of kanchulikhabar.com, was reportedly assaulted by two men following a row over a payment issue with a fellow journalist Pujan Bishwakarma, the executive editor of Yugyan daily.

Sharma has claimed that two local goons—Dipendra Kunwar and Ramesh Mijar—assaulted him at Bishwakarma’s order.

Bishwakarma is also the Province 5 committee member of Nepal Communist Party.

Sharma has suffered injuries in his face, head and eyes.

Following the incident, both Sharma and Bishwakarma had reached the Kohalpur Area Police Office to register complaints against each other.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Hem Bahadur Shahi said the alleged assaulters, Kunwar and Mijar, were on the run.

Bishwakarma said that the fight broke out after Sharma hurled casteist epithets at him.

On Sunday, Sharma had allegedly told Bishwakarma that the latter could not be respected as a journalist because he was from a lower caste.

Bishwakarma has accused Sharma of repeatedly calling him names and using racial slurs in the past as well, allegations that Sharma denied.

Police have filed a case against Sharma, charging him with caste-based discrimination.

Sharma said police refused to register his complaint against Bishwakarma. Meanwhile, Banke district chapter of the Federation of Nepali Journalists has formed a committee to investigate into the incident.

Thakur Singh Tharu, district chair of the federation, said that the committee would release its investigation report in a few days and take a decision accordingly.