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Press Council raps J&K police for pushing around mediamen

The Press Council of India has reprimanded two officials of the Jammu and Kashmir Police for preventing a local daily from covering a police assault on a group of people.

At a meeting in Bhopal, chaired by Justice P B Sawant, the council reprimanded Inspector Sajjad Ahmed and Station Ghulam Nabi Dar of Srinagar for preventing Ishfaq-ul-Hassan and Abdul Qayoom of The Kashmir Times from covering a police assault on a group that was watching the shooting of a Telugu film.

The council also reprimanded Haryana Public Health and Housing Minister Satya Narayan Lathar for threatening the chief editor of another local daily for publishing a report against him. Further, it directed the state chief secretary to protect a correspondent of the Dainik Jagran, who was reportedly threatened by Speaker Fakir Chand Aggarwal and his sons.

The council advised the authorities, particularly law enforcing agencies, to adopt a more humane approach towards people to win their support against the Kashmiri militants. While the efforts of the authorities to bring back normalcy in the valley were to be appreciated, it was also their duty to ensure that the media was encouraged to report on the claims about the improved situation, it observed.

UNI

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