So they are poor Farmer Protesters ? Journalist, ANI cameraman attacked for recording farmers' violence
The incident took place the same day an ABP journalist was heckled by farmer protesters.
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In yet another incident proving that the agenda of the farmer's protest is different from what they have been portraying, the violent mob of 100 farmer protesters attacked a group of ANI cameraperson and broke his camera while he was trying to record a police drone being brought down with kite strings by the farmers near Shambhu border on Wednesday.
The victim has been identified as Sikander and Karan Verma who is an ANI Chandigarh bureau reporter. Both victims are currently receiving medical treatment at Civil Hospital in Rajpura, with Sikander sustaining a head injury and Verma a fracture in his right arm.
As per the reports, several protesters are using kite strings to bring down police drones being used to lob tear gas shells at the protest site. As protesters brought down a drone around 6 pm on Wednesday, Sikander tried to capture the incident on his camera when they attacked him.
ANI Cameraperson & another journalist were beaten miserably by a mob of protestors near Delhi-Haryana Singhu border. Shameless cowardice on display. Hope cops take strict action & arrest the criminals. In Solidarity with media and ANI. @smitaprakash @ishaan_ANI @IamNaveenKapoor pic.twitter.com/zhVRYKgE4C
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) February 15, 2024
Over 100 protesters then mobbed him and thrashed him. Verma was also assaulted as he tried to intervene and sustained minor injuries. Around 10 protesters took the duo away from the mob and to the hospital, after Sikander screamed “Media se hoon, media se hoon (I am from the media)”.
Farmer protestors tried to bring down drones of security forces with kite but failed miserably https://t.co/uRe4qtRN90
— Frontalforce 🇮🇳 (@FrontalForce) February 14, 2024
It’s not clear why protesters targeted Sikander. While a section of the protesters claimed that the group mistook him for being linked to the police force, Sikander was wearing a press card and gear identifying him as a media professional at the time of the incident.
This incident comes hours after the ABP journalist Jagwinder Patial was manhandled, heckled, and his earphones smashed by protesters at the Shambhu border, amid sloganeering of “Godi media murdabad” and “Godi media wapas jao”. A video of the incident showed Patial surrounded by protesting farmers sloganeering against him. Some of them eventually escorted him away from the crowd.
Yesterday, a India Today journalist Satendra Chauhan also got injured during the farmer’s protest at the Shambhu border in Ambala, Haryana.
“The farmers did not intend to stop. They were continuously pelting stones at the police resulting in police action. The Haryana Police then fired tear gas shells and attempted to disperse the crowd,” Chauhan could be heard saying.
“The situation at the Shambhu border was quite tense. The tensions escalated further after the farmers began pelting stones at the police. Later the police also resorted to firing tear gas shells at the farmers,” Chauhan reported from the hospital bed.
Moreover, on duty police is being attacked by stone pelters for halting the protestors. As per the Haryana Police DGP Shatrujeet Kapur, two DSPs and around 24 police personnel were injured in stone-pelting yesterday.He questioned Punjab administration for not stopping the protesters when they started moving from Amritsar. "This clearly means that they want to create terror in Delhi and insult Red Fort again," he said highlighting injuries to police personnel.
Central Delhi has been heavily secured, with anti-riot soldiers placed strategically and metal and concrete blocks limiting access to numerous critical roadways. The protests at the Shambhu border and nearby areas are underway. On Wednesday (14th February), protesting farmers from various organizations began marching towards the national capital. The Delhi Police posted at the borders are currently protecting the borders and maintaining law and order in response to the farmers’ ‘Delhi chalo’ demands. A vast deployment of police and paramilitary forces, as well as multi-layered barricades, are in place to secure the national capital borders at Singhu, Tikri, and Ghazipur.
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