Three journalists covering the District Development Council (DDC) polls in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district alleged that they were assaulted by the forces on Thursday.
Senior correspondent of News 18, Mudasir Qadri; stringer ETV Bharat Fayaz Lolu and stringer TV9 Junaid Ahmad alleged that they were beaten and detained by the forces while covering the DDC polls in Liver village in Dachnipora block at around 8:30 am.
“We were interviewing the candidate of Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration when his supporters alleged that the forces were not allowing them to proceed towards the polling stations to vote,” the journalists said.
They said that a Police contingent lead by a senior officer arrived on the spot and started beating them up.
“We were humiliated in full public glare. Our microphones, cell phones, and logos were seized and we were taken to the police station,” the trio said.
They said, there they were detained.
“After around 20 minutes, 23-year-old Junaid complained of chest pain and breathlessness and was hospitalized,” one of them said.
He was later discharged after proper treatment.
TV18 and ETV Bharat quoted senior Police officials including Director General of Police (DGP) and Inspector General of Police (IGP) of looking into the matter.
Meanwhile, political parties including National Conference (NC), Peoples Democratic Front (PDF) and civil society groups including Jammu and Kashmir Civil Society Forum condemned the alleged assault on the journalists.