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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