Scribes protest attack during panchayat poll nomination; Mamata denies claim

Many journalists today took out a procession here against the alleged attack on them while covering the nomination exercise for panchayat elections in West Bengal, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee denying any such attack.

The media persons alleged that a photo-journalist was stripped and assaulted by a group of anti-socials in Alipur, headquarters of South 24 Parganas district.

The Media and Journalist's Welfare Association (India) complained to the South 24 Parganas district magistrate that many scribes were attacked while covering the nomination filing process on April 9 at Alipur.

The scribes took out a procession from the Gandhi statue at Mayo Road and it terminated at Dharmatala. They carried posters saying 'We want justice', 'We are not afraid' and 'Freedom is our right'.

In a letter to the DM yesterday, the media association had stated that several reporters and cameramen along with a photo journalist, came under attack when they were covering the election nomination exercise.

The media body also claimed that all of them sustained injuries and the anti-socials snatched the cameras and electronic gadgets of the photo journalist. It requested the DM to take necessary action against the culprits.

Reacting to the journalists' procession, the chief minister said it was a propaganda of a specific media house.

"No such incident has taken place. This is being done deliberately by some quarter. A planned effort is on to influence the judiciary. It is the tactics of a particular media house," Banerjee told reporters at the state secretariat.

Appropriate action would be taken against the media house, she said, adding that media must be impartial.

"There is no information of attack on any journalist. I stay at Alipur. If journalists are attacked, I myself enquire. Police told me they talked to the so-called victims of attack and he too did not say anything," the chief minister said.