The All Manipur Working Journalists’ Union and the Editors Guild Manipur have lodged formal complaints to the authority to check the rampant misuse of stickers and jackets with the word ‘Press’ on vehicles. Police reports said that checking of the vehicles with this sticker had been started and so far no arrest had been made.
A high police officer said that proper checking was being done since Manipur was an insurgency inflicted State. A senior editor told The Hindu that police and other security personnel dId not stop and search the vehicles with such stickers. But some drug barons may also be misusing the stickers since Manipur had become an international drug trafficking route, he said.
It is common to see ‘press persons’ thronging the spots of encounters, accidents, etc.. The two media organisations feel that most of the persons represent unregistered bodies. This may create problems in the long run. In the past such a campaign was launched but had fizzled out. Of late, there has been an increase in the misuse of the press stickers.
Police said that the bona fide press reporters should possess identity cards issued by the State, Central governments and other well-known media organisations.
