Imphal, jan 13: Nameirakpam Biswajit, reporter of the Imphal Free Press, was severely beaten up by police commandos of the Imphal West district police while covering the chaos in front of Congress Bhavan today.
Our reporter was kicked and beaten with lathis despite identifying himself as a journalist.
The incident took place at around 2 pm in front of the Congress Bhavan at BT Road amidst police efforts to control the crowd of disgruntled Congress workers who were thronging the party office protesting against the failure to award the party tickets to their chosen leaders.
Nameirakpam Biswajit, son of N Mangi of Kwakeithel Akham Leikai, was carrying both his camera and notebook in plain sight when he was kicked in the back by a police commando.
As Biswajit fell to the ground, and despite his protest that he was a journalist, he was set upon by another commando with the words `karigi paomi`. Biswajit was beaten repeatedly with a lathi, ignoring protests from the people nearby.
Apart from Biswajit, the protesting Congress workers, most of whom belonged to Wangkhem A/C and were demanding the party ticket for Dr. Ibochoubi, were indiscriminately beaten up by the police commandos, who belonged to the escort party of the SP, Imphal west.
Biswajit was hospitalised at RIMS hospital following the incident.
Outraged over the assault of their colleague, local journalists immediately gathered at Manipur press Club and held a meeting. The meeting apart from strongly condemning the assault upon a scribe demanded an apology from the erring police personnel.
Later, the SP Imphal west, Clay Khongsai and his junior officers turned up at the press club and offered an apology which the journalists accepted, along with an assurance from the SP that such incidents would not be repeated in future.
The SP`s apology notwithstanding, the IFP wishes to place on record its strong condemnation of the savage and completely unjustified assault upon our reporter.
