BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav has ordered an inquiry into the alleged assault of a national news channel’s senior journalist and video journalist by local police in the communally sensitive town of Ashta in Sehore district.
The journalists, including Zee News senior reporter Pramod Sharma and video journalist Rajat, were reportedly attacked by on-duty officers on Saturday afternoon while covering the town, which recently witnessed communal clashes between Karni Sena activists and members of the Muslim community over a dispute involving urination.
“We were covering the protests by right-wing Hindu groups on Saturday afternoon when the police, led by local station in-charge Girish Dube, assaulted us and damaged the camera. We were taken like criminals in a police vehicle to the station and made to stand there for about half an hour. Our camera was returned only after two hours, but all recorded data and visuals had been deleted,” Sharma and Rajat alleged.
The journalists were subsequently taken to Chirayu Hospital on the outskirts of Bhopal, where Sharma is being treated for multiple injuries.
Taking cognisance of the alleged assault, MP CM Dr Mohan Yadav, who also holds the state home affairs portfolio, directed State DGP Kailash Makwana on Sunday evening to ensure a senior officer probes the incident.
The Chief Minister also instructed the Bhopal district administration to provide the best possible medical care for the senior journalist, with all expenses to be borne by the government.
Ashta, a communally sensitive town in central Madhya Pradesh, had witnessed clashes between Karni Sena activists and the minority community on the night of 21 December, following a minor dispute related to urination and parking. Since then, the town has remained under heavy police security, owing to separate protests by right-wing Hindu groups and the minority community.
So far, ten individuals from the minority community have been arrested in connection with the 21 December incident, while arrests relating to the other side are still pending.