Guwahati: Journalists’ Forum Assam (JFA) expresses dismay over ‘on camera physical assaults’ on three television scribes by a group of individuals in West Bengal and demands a fair probe to nab the culprits as early as possible.
The scribes namely Hridita, Pinki and Bhaskar, associated with Republic Bangla news channel, were assaulted on the campus of Jadavpur University on 13 March 2025. They faced intimidation and physical assaults while covering events at the prestigious higher educational institute. The news channels have telecast some of the visuals where it is seen that the reporters were pushed by some employees and students.
Arnab Goswami, the chief editor of Republic TV Network, strongly condemned the hooliganism claiming that ‘male students assaulted female Republic Bangla reporters inside the campus’. Hridita and Pinki were simply reporting when they were confronted, physically assaulted, and then illegally detained by the Jadavpur University registrar in his office, but despite this, there was no police protection, asserted Goswami, adding that some employees in the registrar’s office even asked the reporters to delete the footage.
Mentionable is that Jadavpur University continued attracting media attention for an unruly situation in the last few months. The Republic Bangla reporters went to the university authority with queries as to why so much anti-national graffiti was displayed on the campus walls. They also questioned if the pioneer university had turned into a den of some groups aligned with the ruling Trinamool Congress party, where no press persons can enter the campus.
“No journalist, on duty hours, should be harassed and physically assaulted. The concerned authority and Bengal government Chief Mamata Banerjee must take it as their call and investigate the entire episode. The perpetrators need to be identified and punished under the law,” said JFA resident Rupam Baruah and secretary Nava Thakuria, adding that any institution should not be converted into a private campus with no access to reporters as it’s been observed in Jadavpur University for many years now.
