Even as there were not many reports of human injuries in the ongoing violence in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the Cauvery river dispute, two TV journalists were physically assaulted by an angry mob in Bengaluru.
India Today TV journalist Rohini Swamy and cameraperson Madhu Y say that they were kicked and beaten up by pro-Karnataka protesters at Rajaji Nagar in Bengaluru.
“They kicked me and my cameraman in our abdomen repeatedly,” Rohini Swamy said, speaking to The News Minute. Their camera was also broken by the mob.
She says they were accosted not once but twice through their day.
“First incident was in Madiwala, when we were on our way for an interview with the CM. We saw a mob forcefully shutting shops down, so we got down to cover the incident. As we were reporting from the spot, one of the men walked up to me and asked us to join their protest and stop recording. I asked him what his problem was in Kannada, and he left, but returned on his bike later to take my picture,” says Rohini.
Later, at Rajaji Nagar, near Gopalan Mall, was where the duo was assaulted.
“There was a huge crowd there. As soon as we took our camera out, they came rushing towards us and asked us to stop shooting. We said we will stop, and then they asked us to join the protest. We told them we can’t do that, but that we will leave the place. But they did not listen,” she says.
Soon, the entire mob allegedly descended on both the journalists at attacked them, says Rohini. “They were drunk and did not belong to any group, they just wanted to attack us,” she adds.
Later however, a person in the same mob came to help them and took them to safety.
The two journalists were treated for their injuries at a government hospital, and they will be filing an FIR soon.