At a time when Uttar Pradesh is under scanner for arrest of journalists for the remarks regarding CM Adityanath, another journalist is seen in a video being abused and beaten up by cops in the Shamli district.
Amit Sharma, a stringer for TV channel News24, said that a group of Railway Police personnel locked him up and abused him last night when he was covering the derailment of a train in Shamli district.
“They were in plain clothes. One hit my camera and it fell down. When I picked it up, they hit and abused me. I was locked up, stripped and they urinated in my mouth,” Sharma said.
#WATCH Shamli: GRP personnel thrash a journalist who was covering the goods train derailment near Dhimanpura tonight. He says, “They were in plain clothes. One hit my camera&it fell down. When I picked it up they hit&abused me. I was locked up, stripped&they urinated in my mouth” pic.twitter.com/nS4hiyFF1G
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) June 11, 2019
Several local journalists rushed to the police station on learning about the incident and put the video footage of cops beating up Amit Sharma on social media, news agency IANS reported. The journalists also reportedly contacted senior officials at the police headquarters. Amit Sharma was released this morning after protests by the other journalists at the local police station.
Uttar Police, which oversees the Government Railway Police, took note of the video and said the railway police Station House Officer and a constable have been suspended.
We have come across a video where a journalist has been beaten up & put up in a lock up. DGP UP OP Singh has ordered for immediate suspension of SHO GRP Shamli Rakesh Kumar & Const. Sanjay Pawar.
Strict punishment shall be accorded to policemen misbehaving with citizens.— UP POLICE (@Uppolice) June 12, 2019
“We have come across a video where a journalist has been beaten up & put up in a lock up. DGP UP OP Singh has ordered for immediate suspension of SHO GRP Shamli Rakesh Kumar & Const. Sanjay Pawar,” the Uttar Pradesh police tweeted.
