The Kashmir Press Club on Thursday condemned the alleged thrashing of three freelance journalists who work as stringers for various news organisations, by the police in south Kashmir. The incident happened when these individuals were covering the ongoing District Development Council (DDC) elections in the area this morning.
In a distress call to the club Fayaz Lolu, who works as a stringer with ETV Bharat, said that he along with two other Journalists Mudasir Qadri, a stringer with News 18 Urdu, and Junaid Rafiq, who was working for TV 9, were “beaten” today while covering the ongoing DDC elections in Srigufwara area of South Kashmir.
The Kashmir Press Club termed the incident unfortunate and called for a thorough inquiry into the incident. The club hoped strict action is taken against those found guilty in this act perpetrated “in utter disregard of the freedom of the press”. The KPC further urged the Chief Electoral Officer to take note of such incidents and initiate action against the concerned police official.
He also said that their news gathering equipments were also seized by the police. Fayaz Lolu alleged that it was when the Senior Superintendent of Police, Anantnag, Sandeep Choudhary, arrived on the spot that they were beaten up ruthlessly and taken to the nearest police post.
The KPC further urged that the authorities should ensure that an enabling atmosphere is created for the free and fair functioning of the media in Kashmir.
