Journalists condemn the attack, demand for a safer environment

Mumbai, Aug 23: After the shocking incident of the 22-year old photojournalist's gangrape came to light, as many as 200 journalists from the media fraternity came out on the streets here today expressing their concern for their own safety and demanded strict action for the culprits.

Journalists from all sections came together, and wrote black coloured bands on their arms in solidarity for the victim and demanded for stricter laws to be implemented for such incidents.

They demanded for a better and safer environment for them so that they can work without fearing for their own safety and also urged that isolated areas must be manned by the police and must be secured in order to avoid such incidents.

The victim, who was an intern for a magazine, was out on an assignment with a male colleague when the incident took place in Shakti Mills compound in Lower Pare, which is in the heart of the city. The men approached them and then raped her and tied her colleague to a tree.

The rape incident has now instilled fear in journalists all across the country, women in particular and has sparked off safety issues for working journalists who mostly go out alone for assignments or gathering stories and often end up returning home late. Many of them are dependent on the public transport, which puts their safety at risk.

However this is not the first incident when a journalist has been attacked.

Investigative reporter J Dey was shot dead in Mumbai on June 11 in 2011 by assailants. Dey had extensively reported about the Mumbai underworld. Similarly Soumya Vishwanathan, a working journalist with a television news channel was found dead in her car on September 30, 2008. Vishwanathan was shot and a bullet was found on her , the post- mortem report had said.

OneIndia News