At least 10 journalists were thrashed by government forces near the site of gunfight in Fateh Kadal area of old Srinagar on Wednesday morning while they were discharging their professional duties.
Asif Qureshi, a journalist working with ABP news channel, said they didn’t “cross the line drawn by forces” and were performing their professional duties during the gunfight in which two militants and a policeman were killed.
“We didn’t cross the line that police had drawn for us. Men from the fire and emergency services were dousing the fire. The encounter had ended. I was talking to a top police officer to get details when a masked policeman started beating my cameraman Arshid Hussain Shah,” Qureshi told Greater Kashmir.
Other policemen joined in and started thrashing journalists, he said, adding that senior officers told the policemen not to thrash journalists but they didn’t listen to them.
“Other journalists present on the spot tried to stop the masked policeman from thrashing my cameraman. But suddenly we saw scores of policemen and a SP-rank official catching hold of around 10 to 20 journalists and beating them mercilessly,” Qureshi said.
He said that the police fired several shots in the air and some empty cartridges even touched his ear.
“I was saved by some men from fire and emergency service department,” Qureshi said, adding 10 to 12 journalists were beaten up by the police.
“We were performing our duties when forces started hurling abuses on us. An officer of SP rank along with other forces personnel manhandled us and even fired pellets to scare us,” said Arshid Hussain Shah, who has suffered fracture in an arm and wounds in leg in the forces’ action.
“It was shocking to see a senior officer trying to choke neck of a photojournalist,” he said.
Journalists who were thrashed include, among others, Manzoor Mir, Qazi Irshad, Khan Yasrub, Basit and Bilal Bahadur.
A group of media-persons raised the issue with top police officials who were present on the spot. The officials later apologised, they said.
JOURNALIST BODIES CONDEMN
The Kashmir Press Club condemned the thrashing of journalists by government forces in Fateh Kadal.
“Many reporters and photo-journalists were beaten up while they were discharging their professional duties this morning. One of the injured journalists is also a member of the KPC’s executive team,” a KPC spokesman said in a statement. “It is also being reported that the thrashing took place right in front of senior police officers. The KPC has expressed shock over this behaviour by the forces and hopes the state administration will take a note of this and act.”
Jammu and Kashmir Editors’ Forum also condemned forces’ action on reporters, video journalists and photographers.
“Forces even fired shots in the air to scare them away from the gunfight site which is against professionalism,” a JKEF spokesman said, urging upon the government to ensure safety and protection of media persons working in Kashmir.
It is the constitutional and moral duty of the government to provide conducive atmosphere for media persons, the spokesman said, strongly condemning the Fateh Kadal incident and demanding strong action against the culprits.
Kashmir Press Photographers Association also condemned the thrashing of journalists “by two senior police officers while they were discharging their professional duties, covering a gunfight at Fateh Kadal in Srinagar’s downtown.”
In a statement, KPPA said two senior police officers “used abusive language against the photojournalists while they were covering the Fateh Kadal gunfight and roughed up several of them.”
The spokesman termed the behavior of these police officers as “brazen” and “uncalled for” and urged the authorities to take immediate action against them.
Kashmir Journalists’ Association (KJA) strongly condemned the manhandling of journalists by government forces.
“Police and other government forces have been harassing and assaulting journalists repeatedly. It is simply uncalled for and must be stopped to prevent any legal recourse by the journalistic fraternity against such incidents,” a KJA statement read, adding: “Journalists are being stopped from performing their professional duties even as there are clear constitutional guidelines which govern the media in Jammu and Kashmir. The (Fateh Kadal) incident is unfortunate as it has taken place in front of senior police officials.”
The KJA appealed to the governor’s administration to take “appropriate measures and action in the incident to end this harassment.”
“We raised the issue with inspector general of police SP Pani who extended unconditional apologies to the journalistic fraternity and assured action in the case,” the statement read, adding: “Pani has assured the journalists’ body that the police will frame SOP for crisis situations so that such incidents are not repeated.”
WILL LOOK INTO IT: POLICE
Kashmir range inspector general of police Swyam Prakash Pani said he would look into the matter.
“We are looking into it. I apologise if unintentionally something has gone wrong. We (police and media) are colleagues. We work in difficult situations. And I hope it will not come as hindrance in our professional ethos,” he said.