Reacting to the
Feb 14-15 assault on journalists who were covering the Telangana agitation in the Osmania University, the Press Council Of India (PCI), Delhi, has asked the state government to take disciplinary action against the police officials involved in the violence.
Those accused were Joint Commissioner of City Police PSR Anjaneyulu, Deputy Commissioner Mahesh Chandra Ladda, Assistant Commissioner K Ramachandra and Station House Officer B Anjaiah. The PCI has demanded that the accused not be given postings that might hamper and restrict free movement of the press. It also said that the findings of the Assessment Committee must be included in their service records.
The AP Union of Working Journalists (APUWJ) had submitted a memorandum to the PCI saying that the attack had resulted in 28 journalists being injured and 13 cameras & 19 vehicles (including burning of 2) being damaged. The PCI then set up an Assessment Committee, which found that the attack was unprovoked and deliberate by nature, targeting journalists even after they had identified themselves.
The Journalists Union secretary K Amarnath further alleged that the state government neither reimbursed the medical expenses of the injured persons, nor paid up the amount for the damaged equipment.
The panel interacted with witnesses, injured journalists and top police officials including Home Secretary Gowtham Kumar and Hyderabad Police Commissioner A K Khan. After having come to the impression that the police restrained the media perhaps assuming that blocking news coverage of the agitation would prevent further intensification of the movement, the panel said this amounted to censorship of news, terming it ‘unconstitutional and undemocratic'.
The media has been asked to refrain from repeated telecast of old footage that might instigate tension. All parties concerned should be adequately covered, it was told.