An otherwise peaceful march organised by the Congress in Guwahati turned violent leading to a casualty on Wednesday. Part of the nationwide ‘Raj Bhavan Chalo’ movement called by the All India Congress Committee (AICC), Assam Congress leaders and members in large numbers began their march against the alleged corruption and crony capitalism under the BJP regime today.
Media persons, including Pratidin Time’s Amarendra Deka and Ajay Sharma, gathered to cover the march. However, the situation escalated soon as the police force deployed to maintain law and order was drawn into crowd control. While Mridul Islam, a member of the Congress Legal Cell was lost his life, at least eight journalists and camerapersons were sustained injuries of varying extent.
According to anecdotal accounts from the scene, the “police aggression” was unjustified as the protest was “largely peaceful”. PT Digital talked to an injured journalist who found faults in the police’s tear gas shelling. “Instead of firing the tear gas shells upwards, they rolled it towards us. This caused more injuries,” he said on the condition of anonymity.
While initial reports suggested that Mridul Islam’s death was caused by inhaling tear gas, Guwahati Police Commissioner Diganta Barah’s statements seem to contradict that. Barah said that Islam’s condition, who already complained of uneasiness at the site, worsened after drinking water from his car. Islam was rushed for medical attention immediately, but succumbed before reaching Gauhati Medical College and Hospital.
When asked whether reporters on ground were protected, he said that no such measures were taken. The incident has again highlighted the perilous nature of the profession with the safety of journalists being grossly overlooked.
Journalists' Safety Undermined
Journalists at conflict zones are protected under international humanitarian laws. However, on ground, the situation almost always is different. As media persons covering the raging wars in the Middle East continue to perish, the situation close to home is not dissimilar.
The UNESCO website on safety of journalists notes, “Journalists reporting from crisis- and conflict-zones face severe threats in carrying out their critical work. While from 2017 onwards UNESCO recorded gradual decreases in media workers killed in conflict zones, more recently the trend has been reversed. UNESCO's monitoring in 2023 recorded more than 50% of journalist killings occurred in crisis- and conflict-zones, with continuously high numbers in the first half of 2024.”
“These tragedies are only the tip of the iceberg. Media infrastructure is often damaged or destroyed, and journalists face physical attacks, detention, equipment confiscation or denial of access to reporting sites. Many are forced to flee or cease their work, risking turning conflict areas into "zones of silence".”
Political commentary on the incident is rife.
The Guwahati Press Club, in solidarity with the journalists serving various media houses who sustained injuries today, has called for “black badge” protest tomorrow against the “repeated assault on journalists in the line of duty”. The press body strongly condemned the police action on journalists who were doing their jobs.
“Visuals clearly show that the tear gas shells were used in places where the reporters and video-journalists had gathered at the programme. Several journalists were injured and had to undergo treatment,” a statement read.
“It has been observed that journalists have off late routinely fallen victim to such incidents in the line of duty in different parts of the state. The Gauhati Press Club urges the civil and police administration authorities to ensure no further recurrence of such incidents. Police and other personnel engaged in mob control or law and order control be trained on dealing with such situations more efficiently and without causing injury or harm to those present at the site for their professional duty,” it added.
Also Read: Assam: 15 Journalists Injured In Samaguri As BJP, Congress Clash
/pratidin/media/agency_attachments/2024/11/06/2024-11-06t060101441z-pratidin-logo.png){kind=logo}
Follow Us/pratidin/media/media_files/2024/12/18/HWc7YTDrptvMMv75TGDe.jpg)