Media men protest police assault, harassment

A day after a senior police official shot at and injured a photojournalist, scores of media men on Friday staged demonstrations to protest the assault. Amaan Farooq, a photographer of local English daily who was covering Lal Chowk encounter with his fellow colleagues was shot at by a Deputy Superintendent of Police, Safdar Samoon in broad day light. The officer had also thrashed Yawar Kabuli, another photojournalist and prevented him and his colleagues from offering their professional duties. The assault on Amaan came under sharp criticism from media men and various social, political and religious parties. Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah has assured strict action into this incident. Reports reaching said that scores of journalists working with local, National and International media organizations on Friday afternoon took out a peaceful rally to protest the assault and harassment by the police and troops. Carrying placards that read “Stop escalating harassment of journalists in Kashmir,” the protesting journalists passed through the streets of the residency road before reaching Mushtaq Enclave, Press Colony. The protesting media men termed the attack on a photojournalist as an attack on the freedom of press. “Yesterday’s incident is a cause of concern for the media men. An officer deliberately tried to target a journalist. The officer must be taken to task,” Senior Journalist and BBC South Asia correspondent, Altaf Hussain said, while talking to journalists. “If the Chief Minister, who is also the Home Minister, does not intervene and deliver the justice, we fear anything can happen in future,” he added.