Hyderabad, Jan 17 : Expressing shock and dismay over the takeover of the Kashmir Press Club, the Indian Journalists Union (IJU) on Monday said the illegal and arbitrary act by a self-appointed group of journalists backed by the administration was unacceptable.
A complaint to the Press Council of India (PCI) is being forwarded requesting to take up the issue suo moto, IJU President K. Sreenivas Reddy and Secretary General Balwinder Singh said in a statement here.
Terming the takeover as a brazen instance of attack on the media and freedom of expression, they demanded immediate restoration of the status quo ante.
Ever since Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into Union Territories in August 2019, free media and free speech were being battered and journalists were subjected to various forms of attacks including illegal arrests, they said.
The arrest of 26-year-old Sajad Ahmed for posting a video of a protest and his continued detention despite being given bail is the latest example, the IJU said.
On the day the Kashmir Press Club was forcibly taken over, there was large-scale deployment of the police and paramilitary forces betraying the complicity of the administration, they said.
