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Punjabi Newspaper Publisher Brutally Beaten Inside His Home By Group Of Men

SALIDA (CBS13) — The publisher of a local Punjabi newspaper who was brutally beaten inside his home says he was targeted because of his work

His face bruised, his hand broken and legs beaten, Punjabi newspaper publisher Boota Basi spoke from bed, still wearing hospital clothes, after surviving the vicious attack inside his home.

He was attacked by a group of men when he answered his front door.

"I opened the door and the guy pushed me into the house," he said. "Only thing I could think—this is the end of my life."

Basi says he writes to expose people who steal public money and take money in the name of religion.He believes his attackers want his work to stop.

"This is nothing," he said "They could have killed me with a gunshot."

Basi says he started his Punjabi newspaper three years ago. That weekly now has a circulation of more than 10,000, a website and enemies.

"I can't tell who it is, but I have a couple in mind," he said.

His work has led Basi to defend himself or sue in more than a dozen civil court cases In recent years. Now he's become the target of a violent crime—one he promises will only reinforce his passion to publish.

"They cannot stop me," he said. "I continue my job."

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