The Gauhati Press Club (GPC) has issued a strong condemnation of the police’s use of tear gas on journalists covering a political event in Guwahati on Wednesday. The incident, which occurred during the dispersal of a crowd near the protest site, resulted in injuries to several reporters and video journalists who were on duty.
Visual evidence from the scene showed tear gas being deployed in areas where media personnel had gathered, raising serious concerns about their safety. Some of the injured journalists required medical attention following the incident, according to the GPC’s statement.
The Press Club highlighted a troubling trend of journalists in Assam increasingly facing violence while performing their professional responsibilities. Expressing alarm over the situation, the GPC called on the civil and police administration to take immediate steps to prevent such occurrences in the future.
To address the issue, the GPC emphasized the importance of specialized training for police and other law enforcement personnel involved in managing protests. Such training, it argued, would help ensure the safety of journalists and allow authorities to handle volatile situations without risking harm to those covering the events.
As a symbolic protest against the repeated assaults on members of the press, the GPC has urged all journalists in the state to wear black badges on Thursday. This act of solidarity seeks to draw attention to the need for safeguarding press freedom and protecting media professionals from violence and intimidation.
