J&K police bars journalists from carrying live coverage of encounters

In a major decision, Jammu and Kashmir police has barred media persons from carrying out live coverage of encounters and law-and-order situations.

The police have asked the journalists not to interfere in professional and bonafide duty of police and security forces at encounter sites.

“The freedom of speech and expression is subject to reasonable restrictions that should not violate other people’s right to life guaranteed under Article 21 or putting the national security in jeopardy,” Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir, Vijay Kumar, said.

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He advised the media persons that no operational content should be carried which is likely to incite violence or contain anything against maintenance of law and order or which promotes anti-national sentiment.

From 2016 onwards stone-pelting protests at the encounter sites had emerged as a major problem for security forces in Kashmir. In 2017 then Army Chief Bipin Rawat had to issue a warning that the civilian protesters obstructing encounters, would be treated as “overground workers of terrorists” and dealt with “harshly.”

Dozens of stone-pelting protesters were killed at encounter sites in police firing in 2017, 2018 and 2019. However, stone-pelting incidents have come down and people rushing to encounter sites to help the trapped militants have drastically gone down since the abrogation of J&K’s special status in August 2019.

A senior police officer said the crackdown on separatists and their sympathisers have broken the backbone of militancy in Kashmir. “The efforts of the lawbreakers, stone pelters and violent mobs has been effectively blocked and hence not only pelting, but other violent incidents, have gone down,” he said.

However, the officer said that in recent weeks incidents of stone-pelting have re-emerged at some encounter sites in south Kashmir. “The live coverage by the media at encounter sites encourages those who want to create trouble and due to this reason the decision has been taken,” he added.