Media Release:
India
May 2, 2013
The International Federation of Journalists is
alarmed to learn of a police action in Bolangir district of Orissa state in
eastern India, which seriously injured independent news cameraman Amitabh
Patra.
According to partners from the Media Unity for
Freedom of the Press (MUFP), a body based in the state capital of Bhubaneswar, on
April 29, Patra was covering a protest by residents of the Dunguripali area in
the district against a dam project that is likely to submerge their lands. The
police contingent deployed at the site, reportedly carried out a baton charge.
Patra along with a number of demonstrators was
chased down by the police and beaten severely. He has sustained serious head
injuries and his TV camera has been smashed beyond repair.
The IFJ joins its partners in Orissa in
demanding that Patra be given best available medical care and that the camera
and other equipment that has been destroyed, be replaced.
The IFJ also calls for the police personnel who
may have used disproportionate force in the incident, to be called to account.
For further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +612 9333 0950
The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 131 countries
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