Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik's visit to Ganjam was today boycotted by journalists in protest against alleged inaction of the police in bringing to book the culprits responsible for the attack on scribes at the medical college here.

Scribes boycotted Patnaik's visit to Chhatrapur, Humma, Hinjili and Sheragada and staged a sit-in for about three hours near Mahatma Gandhi statute at Gandhi Nagar here.

The decision to boycott the official visit of the chief minister was taken following alleged inaction of police to arrest the medical students involved in attacking media persons at MKCG Medical College and Hospital here on monday.

"The journalists are unsafe in this regime as the fourth estate was attacked in several places in the state," a senior journalist said.

The latest incident took place at the medical college here, when several media and camera persons were allegedly beaten up by medical students while reporting a clash between the relatives of a dead patient and the medicos, sources said.

Several journalists staged dharana with black badges and decided to continue their agitation till the arrest of the attackers. Several organisations and the opposition political parties, including the Congress, extended their support to the cause of the journalists.

The mediapersons also demanded transfer of the SP (Berhampur) for alleged inaction in arresting the culprits.