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Media-persons manhandled

Kashmir Times. Dated: 8/25/2019 12:01:42 PM

SRINAGAR/NEW DELHI, Aug 24: The media-persons, who had gone to cover the opposition delegation’s visit to Srinagar, alleged that they were manhandled by the security personnel at the airport.
The security personnel at the airport allegedly beat up the media-persons who were covering the delegation’s visit.
An Aaj Tak reporter in a video clip is seen yelling how she was grabbed by five women security personnel and dragged around. She is seen telling the viewers that other media-persons too were manhandled in the similar way.
“You could have told us politely that we were not supposed to shoot a video here. How could you misbehave with us? Tell us please why did you do it?,” the reporter is seen asking a paramilitary officer who then goes away without giving a reply.
However the officials in Srinagar said the journalists were politely told that the photography or shooting of a video was prohibited there still they continued with it.
The Congress party has condemned the attack on the media persons.
“Reports are coming in of media persons being aggressively handled by the Srinagar police & blocked from meeting with opposition leaders’ delegation. We strongly condemn these draconian measures against the media. #RahulGandhiWithJnK,” Congress statement read
The CPI-M in a statement said that the denial of entry to well-known leaders of recognized political parties is an “outright attack on the rights of political parties” to meet and address their constituents.
“The misbehaviour of police with media at Srinagar airport is a blatant attempt at suppression of freedom of the press. If ‘normalcy’ exists in the Valley as claimed by the government, why is it stopping representatives of political parties from meeting the people?” it said.
“People throughout the country are watching this blatant trampling upon of the democratic rights of people and their representatives by a party which seeks to impose a totalitarian regime,” it added.
Earlier Jammu and Kashmir administration on Saturday did not allow the delegation of opposition leaders to venture out of Srinagar airport and sent it back from there itself. Earlier in the day, a delegation consisting of Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and K.C. Venugopal; CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury, DMK’s Tiruchi Siva, veteran socialist leader Sharad Yadav, Trinamool Congress leader Dinesh Trivedi, CPI general secretary D. Raja, NCP’s Majeed Memon and JDS’ D. Kupendra Reddy had landed at Srinagar airport.
The delegation had intended to meet people from different walks of life in different parts of Srinagar over the next few days to assess the situation in the Valley and the impression of the locals of the government’s move to scrap Article 370 and make Jammu and Kashmir a Union Territory.
However, the opposition leaders were not allowed to go out of airport and have been sent back from there.
The Centre on August 5 abrogated the Articles 370 and 35-A of the Constitution that gave Jammu and Kashmir a special status. The state has been in a lockdown since then with restrictions on movement of people and communication. The mobile phones and internet services have been snapped in the state.