Portrait : Sneha Barve, investigating despite threats in India

On 4 July 2025, Indian journalist Sneha Barve nearly died for wanting to document an illegal construction site. While her main attacker is out on bail, the reporter - who launched her own news website, Samarth Bharat, and her YouTube channel - continues to work despite the risks.

On the day of the attack, Sneha Barve was on her way to the locality of Manchar, in the state of Maharashtra. She had been alerted by residents about an illegal construction site located in a riverbed that threatened to cause flooding downstream. Once there, the journalist was confronted by around 10 people, including the man who had undertaken the works, a bar owner and local thug with political connections.

It was then that extraordinary violence ensued, all of which was captured by the journalist's cameraman. Sneha Barve was struck on the head and back with a wooden stick, as shown in a video circulated online. As she lay on the ground, her attackers continued to assault her. Unconscious for nearly 48 hours, the journalist was hospitalised for three days with a concussion and serious injuries.

Despite damning footage, the Manchar police initially refused to register the journalist's complaint. They relented only after outrage erupted online, but stopped short of classifying the attack as attempted murder. Her attacker was released on bail and completed the illegal construction site. The local administration promised demolition, but the site remains intact.

Today, the journalist is still undergoing physiotherapy sessions to recover from the after-effects of the attack. And the threat still hangs over her.

"I am constantly afraid, but I continue my work," Sneha Barve says.

The attacker's son went to the journalist's village to obtain information about where she lives. One night, unknown individuals banged violently on her door and threw stones at her home, fleeing only after the terrified family called the police. No police protection measures have been put in place.

For years, Sneha Barve has documented corruption, politics, crime and environmental abuse. Already threatened several times - notably by a former MP in 2024 - then accosted in 2025 by men who tried to slap her outside her office after the publication of an article on the poor condition of local roads, she has never given up. Quite the opposite. Her story shows the very concrete price of public-interest journalism in India, and the urgent need to end the impunity of those who want to silence it.

This article was originally published in French in the March 2026 edition of the RSF Photo Album "100 Photos for Press Freedom", with all proceeds supporting the organization's work.

• ASIA-PACIFIC
• India
• Violence against journalists
• News
• Investigative journalist
• Environment
• Attacks