PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE /Dehradun
Police have taken two accused in custody one is absconding allegedly assaulted senior journalist Hem Bhatt on Friday evening near MKP Chowk, Dehradun. The incident occurred when he was returning home and noticed that an unknown scooty was following him. When he reached near MKP Chowk, the three men came in front of his vehicle and attacked him. According to Bhatt, while beating him they were saying, “You run too much news.”
During interrogation, both accused stated that on the Friday evening, they had taken a lift on a scooty from Sameer, resident of Mehuwala, near Inamullah Building, to go towards Race Course Road. They claimed that despite honking, the complainant did not give way to their vehicle. As a result, on the road leading to Race Course, they allegedly placed their vehicle in front of the complainant’s vehicle and stopped him. An argument followed over this issue, which then turned into a physical altercation.
All three accused have been identified as Mohd Kaif (21), Mohd Tabish (20) and last absconding Sameer. Bhatt filed an FIR at Dalanwala Police Station. He also stated that before this incident, his Facebook page had disappeared. He received an email from Meta stating that his page/channel was taken down because some news content was allegedly disturbing law and order.
Bhatt said that he felt someone was following him from near MKP Chowk and shouting something. Near the Gurudwara, a boy came speeding on a scooty. As soon as he took a right turn, he heard a voice from behind saying, “You publish too much news, now see.” Hearing this, he stopped, thinking it might be a fellow journalist, but instead he saw three men on a scooty.
They abused him heavily. One of them grabbed his collar. When he asked what the matter was, they did not listen. Two punches were landed on his face and he was also hit below the waist. The entire incident happened within one minute. Bhatt said he felt his life was in danger and believed that if they had a weapon, they could have killed him.
Seeing the incident, some people stopped. The accused threw his phone away. Some bystanders also made videos. When the attackers noticed that people had gathered, they fled from the spot. The scooty number plate was deliberately covered with mud to hide the registration number.
Bhatt then called a few of his colleagues and went to Doon Hospital for medical examination. He suffered a tear inside his upper lip, where five stitches were applied. After that, he informed the police. The doctor said that there was no serious danger. Bhatt gave a complete statement to the police along with photographs. Based on his complaint, the police registered an FIR at Araghar Kotwali Police Station.
