annual report print final.qxd - Asian Centre for Human Rights
annual report print final.qxd - Asian Centre for Human Rights
annual report print final.qxd - Asian Centre for Human Rights
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INDIA HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2005 Freedom of the press<br />
The Assam government continued to<br />
deny academic freedom. On 14 November<br />
2004, Japanese research fellow Makiko<br />
Mimura was stopped from presenting her<br />
research paper on Nellie massacre of 1983<br />
at a seminar organized in Guwahati. 9<br />
On the night of 27 November 2004,<br />
Star News cameraman and Government<br />
accredited journalist Sharad Kapoor was<br />
illegally detained by the police at the TT<br />
Nagar police station in Bhopal, Madhya<br />
Pradesh after he was picked up from his<br />
house without any arrest warrant. The<br />
police suspected him of stealing police<br />
wireless set at Panchseel Nagar, where a<br />
police party reached to sort out a group<br />
clash, where the journalist was also<br />
allegedly involved. The police allegedly<br />
manhandled female members of Sharad<br />
Kapoor’s family at the time of arrest.<br />
When Star TV bureau chief Deshdeep<br />
Saxena reached at the police station to<br />
seek bail, Saxena was allegedly threatened<br />
of dire consequences. Police refused to<br />
give Kapoor bail although the sections<br />
against him were bailable. When Kapoor<br />
sought to lodge a complaint against<br />
manhandling of female members of his<br />
family, he was threatened to be booked<br />
under charges of robbery. Later on, a<br />
representation made to the Chief Minister<br />
Babulal Gaur by senior scribes including<br />
Hindustan correspondent Dinesh Gupta,<br />
Sahara Correspondent Sanjeev Shrivastav<br />
and India TV Correspondent Anurag<br />
Updhyay. The Chief Minister ordered a<br />
probe into the incident. 10<br />
Political activists also continued their<br />
attacks on the media.<br />
On 28 August 2004, Nikhil Wagle,<br />
editor of a Marathi daily, Mahanagar, and<br />
two other journalists- Yuvraj Mohite and<br />
Pramod Nigudkar, were attacked by<br />
alleged members of Shiv Sena at Malvan<br />
in Sindhudurg district. An attempt was<br />
made to blacken the editor’s face and all<br />
the three journalists were beaten him.<br />
They were <strong>report</strong>edly badly injured in the<br />
attack. On 24 August 2004, Sajid Rashid,<br />
editor of the Hindi daily, Hamara<br />
Mahanagar, was stabbed near his office<br />
by two persons. He had to be admitted in a<br />
hospital. Mr. Rashid is a member of<br />
Muslims <strong>for</strong> Secular Democracy that has<br />
been demanding an end to the practice of<br />
triple ‘talaq.’ 11<br />
On 12 November 2004, Anal Abedin,<br />
a <strong>report</strong>er of Anandabazar Patrika, a<br />
leading daily newspaper in West Bengal<br />
was attacked by masked attackers. They<br />
attacked his wife Tandra Abedin and two<br />
year old daughter. When Tandra Abedin<br />
managed to grab one of the attackers and<br />
exposed his face, she saw that he was<br />
Akbar Kabir alias Babul Kabir, the exchairman<br />
of Berhampur Municipality. As<br />
the leader was recognized, the attackers<br />
ran away immediately. On 13 November<br />
2004, the Berhampore Police arrested 15<br />
out of 30 suspects including Mr. Akbar<br />
Kabir, out of 30 suspects. They were<br />
subsequently produced be<strong>for</strong>e the Sub<br />
Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM)<br />
Court, Beharampore on the charges of<br />
attempt to murder, use of arms and<br />
weapons, molestation, illegal gathering<br />
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