India News | Kashmiri Journalist Alleges Assault by Policemen

Srinagar, Jul 17 (PTI) A journalist on Saturday alleged he was assaulted by Jammu and Kashmir policemen in Anantnag district.

Police said they have taken cognisance of the matter and the circumstances of the incident are being looked into.

Taking to Twitter, Aakash Hassan, an independent journalist, said he was beaten up by policemen at Sangam while he was on the way home.

“A sub inspector named Zahid and his one PSO came in front of my car and slapped and beat me up by batons — and the barrage of abuses,” he wrote on Twitter.

Acting promptly, police said it has taken cognisance of the incident.

“Cognisance taken. Circumstances that led to this being looked into. During rush evening hours, a loaded truck got stuck due to mechanical fault on Sangam bridge leading to heavy traffic jamming. Been working hard to clear it. Request all to cooperate with police & avoid confrontation,” Anantnag police wrote on its official Twitter handle.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said it was unacceptable and “disgraceful” to see Jammu and Kashmir police officers “assault” journalists.

“They act with impunity knowing all too well that they will get away with it. Hope IG Vijay Kumar ji takes strict action against this policeman,” Mehbooba said in a tweet.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)