Baripada: Journalists from Mayurbhanj district sat on a mass protest outside the District Collector’s Office on Monday to highlight attacks on media professionals and alleged administrative neglect.
The demonstrators also handed over a memorandum to Additional District Magistrate Ishwar Chandra Nayak to demand professional security, welfare measures and protection of their rights.
Organised by the Mayurbhanj District Journalists’ Joint Forum, the protest brought together members of seven media organisations in Mayurbhanj.
The protesters said journalists played a vital role in upholding democracy and highlighting public grievances, but alleged that their professional security and dignity were increasingly under threat.
They warned that continued neglect and attacks on journalists could force them to intensify their movement.
Journalists Under Attack
Two recent assaults on journalists had sent shockwaves in Odisha.
Late in September, Kshirod Chandra Das, a correspondent with a local Odia daily, was brutally attacked in Sarasakana, Mayurbhanj district. He had sustained serios head injuries.
A member of Odisha Journalists’ Union (OJU), Das later lodged a police complaint, saying he was attacked in retaliation for his critical news reports.
On its part, OJU made a representation to the Director General of Police (DGP), Odisha. It claimed that the attackers had criminal records and demanded strict action against all those involved.
The union alleged that mafia gangs in Odisha were behind the attacks on media personnel, and such incidents had been increasing in recent times.
It also alleged that some local police personnel had links with such gangs and provided them protection.
Earlier in the same month, a journalist was beaten and almost choked to death after he intervened in a road rage incident in Bhubaneswar.
According to reports, the incident began when an Assistant Section Officer (ASO) allegedly honked a ask a vehicle to move aside. A couple came out of the vehicle and confronted the ASO over his honking and then assaulted him.
A journalist passing through the area reportedly stepped in to rescue the ASO, following which the couple allegedly turned their anger on him. Fearing for his life, the journalist ran into the Rabindra Mandap premises to seek shelter. However, the attackers followed him inside and continued the assault.
The couple also assaulted security personnel at Rabindra Mandap when they tried to intervene. The journalist, who was hiding inside the hall, was again attacked with the accused attempting to choke him this time.
The journalist somehow managed to contact police, following which PCR personnel and officers from Kharavela Nagar Police Station reached the spot.