Editorial
Police brutality again!
We condemn it
The picture carried in all the newspapers last Sunday, depicted policemen beating a journalist of a leading Bangla daily. In fact, there were two other journalists of the same newspaper that were subjected to the most brutal physical attack in the same manner.
These once again showed the aggressive attitude of policemen towards journalists whose job it is to take snaps of occurrences in the line of duty. Police do not look kindly upon journalists photographing incidents where their high-handed handling might be exposed. They seem to be raring to have a go at them.
This is reflective of an attitude, disposition and to a large extent lack of motivation to let journalists do their work. We find no words strong enough to condemn such excesses perpetrated by policemen on duty.
The journalists had not adopted any aggressive postures, and the only tools that they were carrying were their cameras and notebooks. Reportedly, the policeman took umbrage at the journalists not 'obeying' their order to keep within a certain part of the road. But who are policemen to restrict the movements of journalists. They are supposed to cover events and they will do that as best as they can and from as best a position as they can, but of course without standing in the way of the law enforcing agencies. And we have no reason to believe that the journalists were posing hurdles for the policemen in the performance of their duty.
Regrettably, instances of journalists coming under attack are increasing. No society that hold high the principle of freedom of expression and freedom of the media countenance a situation where only in the last three months more than a hundred journalists have come under attack of police and miscreants, of that only in the current month nine journalists have been victims of such attacks. We cannot but be concerned at the increasing number of journalists facing threat to their life while doing their duty, more so when state agencies are the source of the threat.
While we appreciate that the police authorities have taken prompt measures to suspend the errant policemen we feel that this is not punishment enough. These policemen must be made examples of so that such roguish behaviour is not repeated in future.
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