Chandigarh:
The Chandigarh Press Club strongly condemns the assault on senior journalist Ramesh Handa by BJP workers while he was performing his professional duties on Friday morning.
Ramesh Handa, City Chief Editor (Chandigarh Region) of Punjab Kesari, was covering a news story related to the Prime Minister’s visit to Chandigarh. He was at Sector 37 reporting on the movement of Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) buses ferrying BJP workers to PEC, Sector 12, the venue of the Prime Minister’s programme.
While Ramesh Handa was recording video footage on his mobile phone, some BJP workers who were about to board a bus objected to the recording. When he continued filming in the discharge of his professional responsibilities, they allegedly manhandled him, forcibly snatched his mobile phone, and took it away.
Such conduct is wholly unacceptable and amounts to an unlawful obstruction of a journalist in the lawful discharge of his professional duties. Any attempt to intimidate, assault, or prevent media personnel from carrying out their work strikes at the very foundation of press freedom and the public’s right to receive information.
The Chandigarh Press Club demands a fair, impartial, and time-bound investigation into the incident and strict action against those found responsible in accordance with the law. The Club stands in solidarity with Ramesh Handa and reiterates that violence or intimidation against journalists has no place in a democratic society.
