Guwahati molestation case: News Live editor resigns

, Jul 17: Keeping his words,

editor Atanu Bhuyan on Tuesday, Jul 17 resigned from his post following the controversy over the Guwahati

case.

While putting down his papers, Mr Bhuyan thanked the cameraman who had shot the controversial footage in which a teen girl was molested by a mob of more than 50 men in public outside a pub in the city.

Mr Bhuyan, who organised a press meet at Ghy Press Club at 1 pm, overruled the allegations against his news channel saying that the victim's name was not revealed by them.

Mr Bhuyan was under pressure as there was a campaign against him in social media (Facebook and Twitter) demanding his resignation following his decision to telecast the molestation video and supporting his crew.

"Mainstream news channels are flooding me with phone calls asking for the footage of the molestation incident. Some of them questioned me as to why my reporter and camera person shot the incident and didn't prevent the mob from molesting the girl. Many people r criticising us for shooting the molestation incident," tweeted Bhuyan.

He further added, "But let me tell them, arrests have been made only because of the visuals. My justification is all very simple. In case of a bomb blast, my reporters would have shot the visuals rather than donate blood. My reporters informed the police, who saved the girl before it was too 'late'. But I'm backing my team since the mob would have attacked them, prevented them from shooting, that would have only destroyed all evidence."

The case is turning murkier with every passing day with a total of eleven arrests so far. The key accused Amarjyoti Kalita is absconding since the incident took place and reports say that he has been traced to Bhubaneswar. The Odisha police, however, claimed that they haven't received any notification from the Assam police on the matter.

The reporter of the channel Gaurav Jyoti Neog also had quit from his job as he was accused of instigating the mob to molest the teenage girl.

The News Live channel had faced a lot of flak for deciding to air the shocking visuals that exposed the faces of the perpetrators of the ugly crime. On the other hand, the visuals also helped the police to identify the molesters and bring them to justice.

OneIndia News