J&K journalist assaulted in Kathua while covering BJP protest over Pahalgam terror attack

Jammu: A senior journalist was hospitalised after he was allegedly assaulted while covering a BJP protest over Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district on Wednesday.

The journalistic circles have strongly condemned the attack on Dainik Jagran reporter Rakesh Sharma at Kalibari chowk and demanded registration of an FIR against the accused.

A purported video of the incident, showing the assault on the scribe, has gone viral on social media.

Sharma said he was covering a BJP protest led by legislators Devinder Manyal, Rajiv Jasrotia and Bharat Bhushan when a party activist Himanshu Sharma accused the journalists of speaking the “separatist language” for raising questions related to security which is the domain of the union home ministry.

Manyal was responding in a cordial atmosphere to the questions and said they are writing to the Prime Minister to request for a “decisive action” against the terrorists but the office bearers of the party were irked when the leaders were asked whether the Pahalgam terror attack and infiltration of terrorists into Kathua are not reflective of central government’s failure to check infiltration from across the border.

He said Himanshu’s repeated remarks were objected to by the journalists who moved out of the venue after deciding to boycott the protest.

In the meantime, he said Himanshu was joined by many others including Ravinder Singh, Ashwani Sharma, Manjit Singh, Tony and Parveen Chuna and they pounced and roughed him in full public view.

Sharma said he was saved by the Deputy Superintendent of Police Ravinder Singh who later admitted him to Government Medical College hospital for treatment.

A group of senior journalists met the Senior Superintendent of Police, Kathua Shobhit Saxena and sought appropriate action including registration of an FIR against the accused and their arrest.

The journalists, wearing black bands on their arms, also held a protest demonstration against the incident at Shaheedi chowk in Kathua this evening and announced boycotting all BJP programmes till the party takes action against the accused.

Some journalists also staged a protest outside the press club in Jammu in solidarity with the protesting colleagues of Kathua.

Meanwhile, the Pradesh Congress Committee strongly condemned the attack on Sharma and said his only crime was that he asked certain “undesirable questions” over the security situation in the wake of growing terror attacks.

“Now asking questions by journalists has become a great sin. What can be more unfortunate and condemnable that even a well known journalist of a national daily is not safe,” PCC chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma said in a statement.

He demanded an apology from the BJP president J P Nadda over the incident and appropriate action against the accused.