Uttarakhand Journalists Forum strongly condemns the undignified action against journalists at UNI office
Uttarakhand Journalists Forum strongly condemns the high handed attitude of the police with the journalists especially women scribes who were busy sending news stories in their UNI office yesterday evening during peak hours.
The officers of the Urban development ministry with some advocates and several police personnel, women and men, had all of a sudden without any information swooped into the office of UNI as if the journalists have committed any crime.
They were heckled, pushed, caught by the arm and scolded, finally physically pushed out of the office said the affected journalists.
The pictures taken on the ocassion unambiguously speaks of the shabby treatment meted out to the journalists who were busy preparing news and sending them.
This attack on the journalist while they were on duty is highly objectionable and condemnable amounting to the stifling of the voice of free speech and writing, a breach of the constitutional right of the journalists said Sunil Negi, president of Uttarakhand Journalists Forum.
He said that it is the bounden duty of the concerned department to follow the honourable court orders but the way journalists were hounded, gheraod, heckled and pushed including forcibly lifted and pushed outside the office asking them to get out is something never happened earlier amounting to the insult to the representatives of the fourth estate and an action to curb the media freedom said the president of Uttarakhand Journalists Forum Sunil Negi.
He urged the concerned senior officers to kindly fix accountability on those who harrassed , heckled and pushed the journalists , hurt their dignity and pushed them out of office forcibly and stringently punish them accordingly.
This is necessary to instill the confidence among the journalist fraternity , the fourth estate of democracy and the torch bearer of safeguarding of democracy.
He said if the journalists are mistreated in such an undignified manner in their office busy on their official duty then what would be the fate of the common people.
The president of Uttarakhand Journalists Forum Sunil Negi said that safety and security of the journalists is the first and foremost responsibility of the law enforcing agencies not of harrassing and victimising them without any fault of theirs.
Meanwhile The Statesman in a message on X criticizing the police action wrote : In an unprecedented atrocity and attack on freedom of media in India, the Rafi Marg office of the nation’s oldest news agency, United News of India (UNI), was literally attacked by a police force that would put an anti-terror operation to shame.
Employees were not given time to even collect their belongings or hear from management. The management has been left outside, and employees are being beaten inside.
The All India Newspaper Employees’ Federation (AINEF) has appealed to the Central Government’s Delhi Land and Development Department on Saturday to immediately withdraw its ongoing order against United News of India (UNI) and give this major national news agency some time.
The Press Club of India expressed deep shock at the manhandling of journalists while at work at the United News of India (@uniindianews and @univartaindia1) premises on 9, Rafi Marg, New Delhi, by police last evening following a court order regarding a land dispute.
PCI condemns in the strongest possible term such highhandedness unleashed on the journalists including women workers and urges the authorities to take prompt action against whoever was responsible for such misconduct said the statement.
