NEW DELHI: A journalist was manhandled by a group of students at JNU who were protesting against the abrogation of Article 370 when a talk by Union Minister Jitendra Singh was going to start at the university.
The victim, in his early thirties, said that this was his first such experience in his five years as a journalist.
“I have complained to the administration, as yesterday it was me, and later somebody else could be similarly targeted,” the journalist said, adding that he didn’t approach the police.
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“I do not wish to unnecessarily make it big. The administration should intervene. I am waiting for their response,” he said, requesting anonymity.
The victim wrote to Jawaharlal Nehru University Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar requesting a meeting to report the incident, but wasn’t entertained.
“Today (Friday) I went to the VC office but didn’t get to meet him,” he said. He said the incident happened after 4 pm on Thursday at the JNU Convention Centre, where the university had organised a talk on “Abrogation of Article 370: Peace, Stability and Development in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh”, by Singh, a senior leader from Jammu and Kashmir.
The journalist was targeted by a group of more than 20 students.“I saw a bunch of students raising slogans against the abrogation. They stood outside the convention centre. The moment I took out my camera to shoot the protest, they raised objections. Some of them pushed me and told me to go away. I did not argue as there was no point,” he said.
“I had gone there to do my job and not to pick any fight. Some students eventually came to my support and told that group that I should not be hindered in doing my work,” he added. There was no comment from JNU PRO Poonam Kudaisya on the matter.
Incident occurred during talk by Union minister
The incident occurred at the Convention Centre during a talk on “Abrogation of Article 370: Peace, Stability and Development in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh” by Union Minister Jitendra Singh.