Zee Telugu reporter Sri Charan was manhandled and detained along with several students by Osmania University police officials on Tuesday, July 9 while he attempted to report on a protest at OU’s Arts College. The students were protesting against the District Selection Committee (DSC) exam notification, demanding that it be postponed for three months, allowing the students sufficient time to prepare.
While filming the protest, Charan was apprehended by two sub-inspectors from the OU police station. Visuals of the incident show the officers forcibly dragging him to a police vehicle and then taking him to the police station. According to media reports, a senior police officer allegedly demanded that the camera crew delete footage of the journalist being detained.
Students at Osmania University were also beaten and detained for several hours. A similar instance was witnessed on Monday, July 8, at the School Education Commissionerate’s office in Saifabad as activists of student organisations and aspirants were demanding postponement of the District Selection Committee (DSC) exam. Around 130 aspirants were detained by the police.
A reporter on the condition of anonymity told TNM that police aggression vis-a-vis protestors has become a pattern over the last couple of weeks. “This is an extreme stance and reporters are prevented from doing their job,” he said.
Aside from Zee Telugu, reporters of TV9 Telugu, 10TV and other Telugu channels were also prevented from covering the anti-DSC protests. The DSC exam, meant for the recruitment of teachers and local bodies, is scheduled to be conducted from July 17 to August 5.
An RTV cameraperson was prevented from entering Gandhi Hospital in the first week of July to cover the indefinite hunger strike of Motilal Naik, to meet the demands of unemployed youth.
Reacting to the incident, Bharat Rashtra Samithi working president KT Rama Rao (KTR) said that journalists have no protection in ‘Indiramma Rajya’ (Indira Gandhi’s rule).