A 35-year-old jouranlist was assaulted in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district for publishing a report about some families who had been home quarantined to prevent the spread of coronavirus, police said on Thursday.

Balasaheb Navgire was assaulted by a group of over 12 persons, most of them women, at Panegaon near Newase in the district on Wednesday, said an official of Sonai police station.

Navgire had written in a local newspaper about 17 families who had been quarantined at home for suspected exposure to coronavirus, he said.

The accused allegedly believed that due to the report, their employers did not allow them to work and turned them away.

On Wednesday, a group of over a dozen persons reached Navgire's house and beat him up.

A case was registered against them for assault, rioting as well as for breaking quarantine. No arrest has been made yet, the police official said.