NEW DELHI: The situation at NewsX, the yet-to-be-launched English news channel of INX Media, took an ugly turn on Friday with journalists alleging assault and I&B ministry referring their complaint about the company's source of funding to finance ministry.

Vir Sanghvi, the channel's editorial head, had quit a few days back following "differences" with its chief, Peter Mukerjea. Since then, many recruited by him have quit. Those who did not go out with him are now being "sacked".

A delegation of NewsX journalists met I&B minister P R Dasmunsi on Friday, alleging summary dismissals in violation of their contracts. They also levelled allegations about the source of the channel's funds.

Later, Dasmunsi issued a statement where he, while disclaiming any intention to interfere in the affairs of any news organisation, disclosed that the complaint regarding the channel's source of funds had been referred to the finance ministry.

Avirook Sen, the channel's executive editor, accused the management of resorting to physical intimidation to force journalists to resign.

The channel denied the allegations. An agency report quoted its CEO Indrani Mukherjee as saying that the allegation about Sen being bashed up was untrue. About the charge regarding funding, she said, "We have submitted all our documents."

Sen said that he and another journalist were forced to resign by a group of executives who allegedly used a combination of threat and physical force to compel them to put in their papers.