Several cameramen and newspaper photographers, who were present at Azad Maidan to cover the protests alleged atrocities against Muslims in Assam and Burma, ended up becoming the targets of rioters.
The rioters not only set the outdoor broadcasting (OB) vans on fire, but also broke equipment and cameras of the media people. Few cameramen and photographers who were present on the spot were even beaten up.
One of the victims (a photographer of a leading newspaper), who was assaulted by the protesters, said, “I do not know the reason why they hit me and my other fellow colleagues. We were present on the spot and suddenly we saw a massive group heading towards us. We were busy capturing photographs and suddenly few men started hitting me. They also broke my camera and kicked me hard. I was lucky enough to escape.”
Another photographer named Prashant Sawant, working for Sakaal Times, said, “They hit me on my face and broke my camera. They also snatched my gold chain.”
Rajesh Jadhav, a photographer working with this newspaper, said, “I was there on the spot, but luckily I got space to escape. The mob could not reach me.”
Another photographer, Vivek Bendra was also assaulted by the mob and had to be hospitalised.
Meanwhile, Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi in Guwahati on Saturday condemned the violence in Mumbai and said that he would be talking to his counterpart in Maharashtra to take stock of the situation.
Regretting that such demonstration was unwarranted, Mr Gogoi assured that his government was capable of defending the life and property of all those living in Assam.
He said, “I will talk to Maharashtra chief minister to take stock of the situation.”
Mr Gogoi said that situation in Assam was returning to normal but such incidents may create confusion among the people. He also called upon the people in Maharashtra to maintain peace. “My government is equally concerned about the situation in Assam. We will not allow any one to be harassed,” he asserted.