Hyderabad: A journalist covering the DSC candidates’ protest at Osmania University (OU) was manhandled by the police while he was on the campus on Wednesday. July 10. This is not the first time reporters have faced issues on campus, especially after the administration began restricting entry into OU.
The journalist, working with Zee Telugu, was filming the protest when two sub-inspectors of the OU police station caught hold of him and dragged him to a police vehicle. Visuals of the incident show the police bundling him in their vehicle before shifting him to the police station.
The Inspector of the local OU police station allegedly threatened the journalist to delete the videos filmed by him. The incident evoked sharp criticism from several quarters. Recently, the police there were also seen manhandling a TV9 channel reporter and forcing him into a jeep.
Former Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) minister Harish Rao strongly condemned the police action and accused the police of attacking journalists. “Is it wrong for them to cover the news as part of their duty? Arresting journalists and forcibly taking them to police stations is a violation of media rights and freedom. We warn the government to change its autocratic attitude towards journalists. We demand the immediate release of the detained journalists,” Harish Rao posted on X.
While the Congress government is being criticised, it may also be noted that the police under the BRS government have been accused of allowing them to be emboldened and restrict journalists from doing their jobs.
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