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Attack on TV channel team decried

Home Secretary assures action against culprits within 24 hours

UP IN FLAMES: The car of a private TV channel set afire near Hazrat Ganj in Lucknow on Tuesday. — Photo: PTI

Lucknow: Agitated journalists here on Tuesday took out a procession protesting against the attack on a team of television channel CNN-IBN by some miscreants who torched a vehicle and assaulted its two staffers.

Over 200 journalists joined the procession from GPO Park, blocked the roads and reached the Secretariat annexe building, raising slogans against the Administration.

The processionists -- accompanied by the two victims of the attack, the CNN-IBN vehicle driver and camera assistant -- met State Principal Secretary (Home) Alok Sinha, who assured action against the culprits within 24 hours. He said the injured would be provided free medical treatment by the State Government. The incident took place when four motorcycle-borne men attacked the vehicle near Peekay Bhawan in the busy Hazratganj area. Before torching the vehicle, the assailants beat up two non-journalist staffers.

``An assistant has been rushed to hospital with serious injuries...they wanted to throw him inside the burning car,'' the journalists claimed.

Describing the incident as an attack on the freedom of Press, the journalists vociferously resented the `inaction' of the district officials during their meeting with the Principal Secretary (Home).

The journalists, when offered, refused to meet Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, who reached the annexe when journalists were demonstrating. A channel broadcast maintained that the attack came close on the heels of former Chief Minister and Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati serving a legal notice to it for a news story telecast and put on its website the news item ``UP's Dalit Queen turns Crorepati''.

The BSP chief claimed that the story contained ``distorted, manipulated and fabricated information and clippings''. The notice calls upon CNN-IBN to pay Rs. 10 crores as damages to Ms. Mayawati, failing which she would initiate legal proceedings against the channel. - UNI

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