Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy reportedly called the women journalists who were attacked by the protesting mobs near Sabarimala temple in Kerala to enquire about their safety. This included NDTV's Maya Sharma and Republic's Pooja Prasanna.
Of the many who were attacked in the protest that turned violent on October 17 were a number of journalists. Pooja Prasanna, Maya Sharma, Radhika Ramaswamy, and Suhasini Raj were among the women who had the misfortune of coming face to face with the violence at the shrine.
While there is footage of the mob that attacked Ramaswamy and an FIR has been filed, the police are yet to identify the men in the video. Prasanna who is the South India bureau chief with Republic has come out with a series of tweets describing the entire incident.
"I had approached at least a 20 police personnel to help us pass through when we were being threatened and intimidated but they all literally and figuratively looked away," she wrote. She alleges that she was attacked just 300m from the spot where both Congress and BJP leaders were protesting at Sabarimala.
1.I had approached at least a 20 police personnel to help us pass through when we were being threatened n intimidated but they all literally and figuratively looked away.2. @Sarithasbalan n I were attacked just 300 mts from where Cong and bjp leaders were protesting. #Sabarimala
— Pooja Prasanna (@PoojaPrasanna4) October 17, 2018
The police were vastly outnumbered, she continues, and only about 5 to 7 officers were able to come to her aid, she wrote. She explained why there was no footage of the attack, writing that her video journalist—Bhagath—was physically carried away by the mob on motorbikes and thrown off the road about two km away. Prasanna also alleges that the mob carried out a planned attack and that it was not spontaneous. She also lost her bag to the attackers. She continued that her driver was slapped several times because he refused to throw her out of the car they were escaping in.
