Patna, Dec 21: A senior journalist of a leading electronic news channel here was on Saturday roughed up by persons trying to enforce the day-long bandh called by the RJD-led opposition Grand Alliance in Bihar in protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the proposed National Register for Citizens.
Prakash Singh, who works with Republic TV, shared video clips of the incident with media persons wherein he, along with cameraman Suraj can be seen being manhandled by bandh supporters at the Dak Bungalow crossing in the city.
In the video clips the duo can be seen being accused of working for a partisan media platform by the bandh supporters, some of whom snatched away the camera and banged it on the road while others tried to prevent bystanders from filming the incident on mobile phones.
Among those seriously injured media persons were K M Sharma of TOI and Dinesh KUMAR OF Dainik Jagran. Several journalists and cameramen locked themselves inside a room of multi-storey building near Dakbunglow crossing after a violent mob of agitators barged in.
RJD was quick to distance itself from the incident.
We condemn the attack on the journalist. It was the handiwork of anti-social elements who had disguised themselves as bandh supporters to bring disrepute to our agitation. No RJD supporter can indulge in such an undemocratic act, RJD national vice-president and former union minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said.
The BJP, however, squarely blamed the RJD-Congress combine for the incident.
RJD-Congress should be ashamed of attacking journalist Prakash Singh and cameraman Suraj. Even covering their hooliganism has become hazardous for media persons, state BJP spokesman Nikhil Anand said and shared video clips of the assault on his official twitter handle.
When asked, Patna superintendent of police said We can say no major violence has taken place anywhere in the state capital. As regards the assault on the journalist, we will investigate the matter and take action after identifying the culprits.
Organized less than a year before assembly polls are scheduled in Bihar, the bandh turned out to be a virtual show of strength for the Grand Alliance in particular the RJD, which has been undergoing a rough patch since the Lok Sabha polls in which it drew a blank.
According to the police headquarters, the number of people detained while trying to enforce bandh could be in hundreds.
Among those who were rounded up was sitting RJD MLA of Raja Pakar in Vaishali district, Sheo Chandra Ram. He was detained in Hajipur town and let off after a few hours.
