JAMMU: Local TV Channel Take One and Press Club Jammu on Wednesday jointly lodged complaint against the Commissioner, Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) for snatching camera and memory card to erase a clipping after the video-journalist caught on camera her slapping a protesting contractor outside the Town Hall building housing JMC office.
The Jammu Press Club and Take-1 have formally lodged a complaint against the JMC Commissioner in City Police Station here.
According to eye witnesses, Kiran Kumar, a video journalist, was covering protesting contractors when JMC Commissioner Mandeep Kour arrived and slapped a contractor identified as Sanjay Kumar, resident of Pacci Dhaki.
On finding Kiran recording live the incident, the Commissioner lost temper. “She started abusing me and ordered her PSOs to snatch my camera,” Kiran told the police, “Even her PSOs’ threatened me and took away my camera.
The protesting contractors started raising slogans against the Commissioner, which forced her to make a quick retreat.
Meanwhile, Press Club of Jammu has demanded high-level inquiry by Raj Bhawan into ‘condemnable incident’, describing the act by the JMC Commissioner as direct attack on the freedom of Press.
President Press Club of Jammu, Ashwani Kumar raised a question mark on the working of state administration and sought to know from the Municipal Commissioner under what powers she directed her PSOs to indulge in such unlawful act of snatching of a camera from Kiran Verma, who is in the field of journalism for the past more than 15 years.
Condemning the act of arrogance by the lady IAS officer, Ashwani Kumar said that the Take-1 cameraman was on his official duty and had recorded the entire incident in which Municipal Commissioner had slapped a protesting contractor in full public view today evening. Apprehending that the same footage will be on air and will expose her unlawful activity, she even went ahead and verbally ordered her PSOs to snatch the camera and the memory card, following which, her PSOs pounced upon the cameraman and took away the camera.
Demanding a high level as well as time bound inquiry into the entire incident, Ashwani Kumar said that soon after the incident of snatching, numerous calls were received from senior and working journalists of state including Kashmir valley, showing solidarity with aggrieved cameraman of Take-1 Media House and demanded stern action against the IAS Officer.
Press Club Jammu demanded attachment of Municipal Commissioner, Jammu till the inquiry come out with its findings.
“It is very unfortunate incident. Take-1 being a local channel has always been playing a positive role of highlighting the genuine issues of all sections. It has always remained unbiased in its reporting. It was a part of his duty that Kiran Verma was assigned to cover an incident in the premises of Municipal Corporation Jammu. But the way Mandeep Kour has acted it looks as if there is no rule of law at all here,” said Faheem Tak, Vice-President, Take-1 Channel while condemning the attack on a journalist.
While appealing to Governor, N N Vohra to intervene into the matter, Tak further apprehended that Mandeep Kour may have destroyed the entire coverage in which she has slapped a protesting contractor besides other important coverage recorded in the camera.
“Very nice. On one side a news item providing an enabling environment to a girl child. On the other hand, criticising a lady officer for snatching camera from a person who is discreetly making my video without even informing me. And the contractor was not slapped for protesting. He was slapped for making my video despite telling him to stop. No one gives any media person a right to invade into my right to privacy without my permission, even if I am on official duty. That’s my fundamental right and I will fight for it. And I think if someone makes a video of your daughter or sister on the road without her permission she should also slap that person and snatch his camera. That’s the only right way”, the JMC Commissioner posted on social media on late Wednesday night.