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Journalist thrashed by cop in UP says he was targeted for news report against officer

Assault on Amit Sharma spells fresh embarrassment for UP Police as it came on the day Supreme Court criticised the force for journalist Prashant Kanojia's arrest.

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Shamli: The News 24 correspondent beaten up in Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli by a Government Railway Police (GRP) officer Tuesday night has alleged that the assault was vengeance for a news report that caused him to lose over Rs 1 lakh in illegal proceeds every month.

“I had been on his (Shamli railway station house officer Rakesh Kumar Upadhyay’s) radar for the past few months as I had done a story against him for supporting an illegal vendor racket run by a person named Nafees in trains and stations,” journalist Amit Sharma told ThePrint.

“The report was published, Nafees went behind bars and his commission, which amounted to Rs 1 lakh-1.5 lakh per month, was stopped,” he added. “Because of this, he had been threatening me for a long time.”

The assault on Sharma spells fresh embarrassment for UP Police, which oversees the GRP in the state, as it came on the day the Supreme Court criticised the force for journalist Prashant Kanojia’s arrest over a Twitter post.

The attack is said to have taken place at the Shamli railway station on Tuesday night, when Kumar arrived to cover the derailment of a goods train: His account has been corroborated by at least three other journalists present on the scene.

According to Sharma, who was subsequently taken to the police station and allegedly kept under illegal detention, Upadhyay even urinated on his face and into his mouth.

The spot where a goods train had derailed and Amit Sharma was allegedly assaulted by GRP personnel. | Photo: Manisha Mandol | ThePrint

‘Wanted to teach a lesson’

Pankaj Prajapati of ABP News told ThePrint that he had heard Upadhyay hatch a conspiracy to attack Sharma.

“SHO Rakesh made a plan to assault Amit on the spot,” he claimed. “When I reached the spot, I overheard them planning to teach Amit a lesson if he arrives there.”

Journalist Pankaj Malik, who works with a portal called National Voice, said Upadhyay started abusing Sharma “as soon as he arrived at the station”.

“When he protested, another policeman hit him with a stick, snatched his mobile phone and punched him relentlessly,” added Malik. “Amit Sharma managed to free himself and ran from the spot, but was again picked up by police half an hour later, from a few kilometres away.”

He was then taken to the station where, Sharma told ThePrint, “everyone had a try at me”.

“After they were done, SHO Rakesh Kumar and constable Sanjay Kumar approached me in the locker room, where the latter tried to strangle me and the SHO urinated into my mouth and face,” he added.

As news of the assault spread, several colleagues turned up at the GRP thana, Shamli, to protest against Sharma’s arbitrary arrest and assault. Members of the bar council and kisan union joined in later.

Journalist Amit Sharma’s colleagues at the GRP thana, Shamli | Photo: Manisha Mondal | ThePrint

When local BJP MLA Tejendra Nirwal arrived at the site, he was greeted with anger. He subsequently went into the station to meet Moradabad DIG (railways) Subhash Chandra Dubey, who is investigating the assault.

Speaking to ThePrint, Dubey said Upadhyay and the constable, Sanjay Kumar, had been suspended. “I’m investigating the matter myself and will take strictest action possible,” he added.


Also read: A tight slap on ‘Taliban-style’ Yogi govt, says UP opposition as Prashant Kanojia gets bail


 

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1 COMMENT

  1. Immunity accorded to Law enforcement in India has only created scanty respect for the Judicial and Law enforcement procedures in the minds of police. This case is an example, is this goon in police going to scott free with just few months of suspension while if the scribe attacked him in self defense, he should have been in jail for years together.

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