New Delhi: After allegations of a police crackdown on a private news channel’s employees, the Editors Guild of India on Saturday “deplored the indefensible acts of violence” and demanded an inquiry into the incident.
The alleged incident came while massive protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act were underway in Guwahati on Friday. “The Guild demands that an inquiry should be instituted to identify those who indulged in such violence against journalists, and punish the guilty,” a statement released by the Guild said.
The editors body said its attention was drawn to a social media video that showed uniformed policemen running amok outside the Prag News offices, targeting cameramen belonging to the television channel with their batons. It has expressed concern over a recent advisory issued by the ministry of information and broadcasting to all private television channels asking them to desist from showing content that could incite violence or cause law and order problems or ‘anti-national’ feelings.
The body believes that the media’s overall commitment to responsible coverage of developments in the country should not be questioned through such an advisory, it added.
