JOIN US30 journalists detained for pelting stones
About 30 journalists have been arrested for pelting stones at actor turned politician-- BJP leader Sve Shekher Venkataraman’s house.
They gathered to protest against actor S Ve Shekhar's endorsement of vulgar remarks against women journalists but ended up on the wrong side of the law when they pelted stones at the residence of the actor-cum-politician.
The journalists were detained after their “peaceful protest” to condemn Shekhar's sharing of a vulgar post about women scribes on Facebook turned violent. Video footage showed the scribes jostling with each other to throw stones outside Shekhar's residence here.
<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Apologies Sve Shekher Venkataraman This is not the way media people are expected to express against your sexist comments on women journalists. Fringe groups had infiltrated.Police are identifying. Hope media houses will ensure heads would roll for this hooliganism at your home. <a href="https://t.co/EcOISx8ms7">pic.twitter.com/EcOISx8ms7</a></p>— J Sam Daniel Stalin (@jsamdaniel) <a href="https://twitter.com/jsamdaniel/status/987377180383457280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2018</a></blockquote>
The incident, that came under heavy criticism on the social media, took place hours after Shekhar, a popular actor and drama artist, apologised for sharing the post on his Facebook page “without reading it.”
Police confirmed detaining the scribes but did not formally arrest them till the time of writing. Shekhar stoked a row on Thursday when he shared a post by his friend from the US which had alleged that women journalists compromise with their morality to climb the ladder up in their profession.
The stone-throwing by journalists turned the tables against them after the incident was recorded on CCTV cameras and were widely circulated on the social media. The incident was preceded by a peaceful protest by journalists outside the BJP office in which more than a hundred journalists, including women, participated.
The stone-pelting created an uproar among senior journalists who condemned the incident. “I think its no form of protest. Certainly, journalists should not resort to such behaviour,” senior journalist Kavitha Muralidharan said.
S Karthigaichelvan, Managing Editor of leading Tamil news channel Puthiya Thalaimurai, wrote on Twitter, “Though protests against defaming and derogatory comments on women journos are our right but it is irresponsible for journalists to pelt stones. It is below the dignity of journalists and I am not in support of such mindless violence,” he wrote on Twitter.