[hr-media] India: A group of journalists attacked by police in Gujarat

Press Freedom
9 April 2002

In a letter sent to the interior minister of the state of Gujarat, Gordhan
Zadaphia, Reporters sans frontières (Reporters Without Borders - RSF)
denounced the attack on some twenty journalists by police in the state of
Gujarat (west of the country). ³After accusing the media of exaggerating
the extent of the recent wave of inter-community violence in the state of
Gujarat, the authorities of this state chose the most reprehensible way to
act by preventing the press from doing its job,² said Robert Ménard, RSF
general secretary. RSF called on the minister to provide the resources
needed to the commission of enquiry so it could carry out its investigation
completely and ensure that the appropriate sanctions be applied.

According to information obtained by RSF, some twenty journalists and media
professionals were attacked on 7 April 2002 by police officers at Gandhi
Ashram, a quarter of Ahmedabad (state of Gujarat, west of the country). The
journalists were covering two peace demonstrations that were disrupted by
members of Gujarat Yuva Morcha, the youth section of the BJP (party in
power). As the incidents began, Deputy Commisioner of Police V. M. Parghi
told Pranav Joshi, a cameraman with the private television station NDTV, to
stop filming. After Joshi asked why he was to stop, he was hit in the head
and fell to the ground. Witnesses said that the police charged the
journalists, threatening them with their guns. The incident ended about ten
minutes later, after Shivanand Jha, head superintendent, who had done
nothing until then, ordered his men to withdraw. Harsh Shah and Harshyal
Pandya, respectively photographer with the daily Indian Express and
journalist with the private television station ETV, were, like Pranav
Joshi, seriously wounded during this attack. Pranav Joshi was hospitalized
and placed in intensive care. A photographer with the Times of India was
also hit in the ribs and kicked. Dhimant Purohit, correspondant for the Aaj
Tak TV channel, Sanjeev Singh, NDTV reporter, Amit Dave, photographer with
the Jansatta newspaper, Ashish Amin, reporter, Ketan Trivedi and Gautam
Mehta, respectively journalist and photographer with the Gujarat Samachar
newspaper, have also been beaten.

Journalists filed a complaint against the deputy superintendent shortly
after this incident. The minister of the interior for the state of Gujarat
issued a communiqué during the night of 7 April, denying that the police
officers attacked the press. But another official communiqué, issued
several hours after that of the ministry, stated that a commission of
enquiry was being set up and would be chaired by a retired judge of the
High Court. The commission is to issue its report in three weeks.

On 8 April, the Gujarat government announced that superintendents Shivanand
Zha and V. M. Pargi were being reassigned, and that a criminal
investigation was being launched.

In the beginning of April 2002, Sonal Kellog, journalist with the Asian Age
newspaper, was beaten up by Gujarat police while she was interviewing
Muslim women who had complained of police atrocities.