Three journalists covering the fifth phase of the District Development Council (DDC) were allegedly beaten up by the police in Srigufwara village of Anantnag district.
Fayaz Lolu, an ETV Bharat stringer, Mudasir Qadri of News 18 and Junaid Ahmad of TV-9 was beaten and detained by the police around 8:30 am while they were reporting the DDC elections in Srigufwara village.
The fifth phase of the District Development Council (DDC)elections in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday recorded a voter percentage of 43.27 across different constituencies spread over several districts till 1 pm
The incident
As per reports, Fayaz claimed that the police seized their equipment after which the three journalists were taken to a nearby police station after Anantnag senior superintendent of police arrived at the spot.
After recording the byte of the candidate and returning to the polling station, Fayaz alleged, "SSP [Senior Superintendent of Police], Sandeep Chaudhary came to the polling station and he started beating us," as per local reports. Rafiq was reportedly admitted to a hospital.
The SSP told the Police to book them under the charges of instigating people for stone-pelting. Fayaz was also reported saying, "We couldn't say anything. We were helpless." The journalists were taken to the Srigufwara police station and were kept there for hours until Junaid Ahmad's health deteriorated and they were taken to hospital, accompanied by around five policemen, said Fayaz.
The Kashmir Press Club demands action
The Kashmir Press Club has condemned the alleged attack by the police on three journalists covering the DDC elections. In a statement, the KPC said the incident was "unfortunate" and demanded an inquiry.
The statement read, "We hope strict action is taken against those found guilty in this act perpetrated in utter disregard of the freedom of the press. The KPC further urges the chief electoral officer to take note of such incidents and initiate action against the concerned police official."
"The KPC further urges that the authorities should ensure that an enabling atmosphere is created for the free and fair functioning of the media in Kashmir," the statement added.
Earlier today, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti alleged that "government forces are being used to rig elections and favour a particular party" in a village in south Kashmir's Shopian district.
(The article will be duly updated with the IGP Vijay Kumar's statement)
