MALAPPURAM: N C Shareef, a local reporter with ‘Suprabhatham’ daily, was allegedly locked up and assaulted by the Areekode police on Sunday when he attempted to click a photograph of a flex board kept at the station premises.The flex board, which had been set up by anti-GAIL protesters at Kavanoor, was confiscated by the police and brought to the station. The police also arrested one person in connection with the protest against the GAIL pipeline. Shareef arrived at the station to collect information about the protest and arrest. When he noticed the policemen holding the flex board, he tried to click a photograph.
Angered by Shareef’s act, the policemen locked him up inside the cell. “I told the police that I was a journalist. But, I was taken inside and beaten up,” Shareef alleged.He claimed that the police had behaved in such a manner because his report had highlighted the police’s faults. A few days ago, a suspect in a ganja case had managed to flee from lockup.
The issue was widely reported locally. Shareef was released following the intervention of Malappuram district police chief Debesh Kumar Behera.Shareef was admitted to Manjeri Government Medical College. The Areekode Pres Forum staged a protest and demanded stringent action against the errant officers.
However, the Areekode police claimed that the cops didn’t know he was a journalist and the issue has been settled.