DIGIPUB, an association of digital-first media organisations, has condemned the attack on two ChalChitra Abhiyaan journalists — Shakib Rangrezz and Vishal Stonewall — in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat on July 20. They were reporting on the impact of revised Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates on food items.
The journalists were in Kishanpur Baral village when they were attacked by an unknown assailant, who snatched their camera and microphone. “The journalists were told that they could not report on government policies and were threatened with more violence,” said a DIGIPUB statement.
News, documentaries
The organisation said ChalChitra Abhiyaan focused on news and documentaries from five districts of west Uttar Pradesh — Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Meerut and Saharanpur. Its editorial team comprised residents of these areas who had been trained to highlight issues that concern marginalised communities.
Vishal is a former brick kiln worker and Shakib is a Muzaffarnagar riot survivor. They along with other members of ChalChitra Abhiyaan had been previously detained by the police for reporting on the Hathras protest in Shamli and protests by the Dalit community in Saharanpur, said the DIGIPUB.
“This is not the first time journalists in Uttar Pradesh have been subjected to violence and intimidation for doing their jobs. While freedom of press is deteriorating, it is especially fragile in Uttar Pradesh. This repeated pattern of intimidation and physical assaults on journalists in Uttar Pradesh by unknown assailants, who prevent journalists from reporting on the government must be halted,” it said.
Key role of free press
The organisation has urged the State government to sensitise the authorities “about the vital role of the free press in a democratic society and to deal with people who attack reporters with the full force of the law”.
“These attacks and lack of strict action by officials do not bode well for all Indians,” it said, urging the Uttar Pradesh Police to conduct an investigation into the attacks on mediapersons. It also requested the State government to ensure that the constitutional right to free speech and expression was protected, so that journalists could do their job without the threat of violence.
