Journalists doing their duty in collecting and publishing news often face violent attacks by those representing powerful vested interests, politicians and even underworld dons. Recently, Dattatreya Ambekar, a journalist in Ambejogai, had both his legs hacked off because he had exposed the modus operandi of a gang of bootleggers in Beed district. A couple of months ago, a Times of India journalist Viju B was attacked when surveying the illegal sand mining in some creeks in Mahad.
For over 2 years now, it has been the demand of various organizations representing media persons that the Maharashtra government amend the law to make attacks on journalists pursuing their call of duty to be a non-bailable, cognizable offence. This will make things tougher for offenders seeking bail, and act as a deterrent to those wanting to derail free and fearless reporting through violence. While various chief ministers have accepted this in principle, no action has been forthcoming. Maharashtra Home Minister, R R Patil, after the attack on the IBN Lokmat office a few months ago, said the government would promulgate an ordinance making such attacks non-bailable, cognizable offences and increase the severity of the punishment. Unfortunately, such promises have remained a lip service to the cause of free speech. In fact the Maharashtra government has gone ahead and made similar attacks on doctors non-bailable but has ignored the demand of journalist organizations.
To bring the issue back at centre-stage, nearly a dozen organizations representing journalists in Maharashtra, including the Press Club, have come together to form the Action Committee Against Attacks on Journalists. A delegation representing these organizations met the Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on Thursday, August 5 morning and demanded that the amendment in Criminal Procedure be tabled forthwith to prevent such frequent attacks. The CM while agreeing with the need for legal deterrent, said ‘safeguards’ against misuse by non-journalists will also have to be incorporated, and that internally in the government and among political parties there was opposition to such a move. When the media representatives were adamant, he agreed to a time-bound programme for drafting a fresh proposal to be put before the Cabinet. He said the views of the media organizations would also be incorporated.
Among those who met the chief minister were Prafulla Marpakwar, Convenor of the Press Accreditation Committee, S M Deshmukh, President of the Maharashtra Patrakar Parishad, Pravin Puro, President of the Mantralaya Reporters Association and Ravindra Ambekar, President of the TV Reporters Association. The Press Club was represented by Gurbir Singh, President and Devdas Matale, Joint Secretary.
To continue the pressure on government and to demand that attacks on journalists be made non-bailable offences, the Action Committee has decided to mark Monday, August 9, 2010 as ‘Protest Day’ by wearing black bands to offices allover Maharashtra and to hold a dharna at Hutatma Chowk from 4PM to 6PM to draw attention to the issue.
All our members are requested to join the protest action in large numbers and to give the issue wide coverage on their media platforms.
Sunil Shivdasani
Secretary
Press Club, Mumbai
