A Hyderabad police officer has been caught on camera, violently pushing and shoving journalists outside Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's camp office, 'Pragati Bhavan'.
A video of the incident, shows a police officer walking out from the camp office to meet media persons. He then walks away from them towards a protest occurring outside the camp office.
When a woman reporter from 10TV follows him, asking a question, he abruptly pushes her away. Even as the reporter shouts at the officer, asking how he could manhandle a woman, the officer turns around to push away other reporters and camera persons from other local channels.
Watch the video below.
#WATCH: Hyderabad - Punjagutta ACP manhandled journalists outside Telangana CM Camp office where contractual employees were staging protest pic.twitter.com/IGr9yu06kp
— ANI (@ANI_news) August 3, 2017
The journalists were covering a protest by some contract employees of the Health Department demanding a hike in wages, and caught footage of the police manhandling several protesters and bundling them into trucks.
Visuals from the event show several male police officers manhandling women protesters.
Speaking to 10TV, the woman reporter, Radhika said, "The police did not even see that the protesters were women, and was thrashing and assaulting them. We were covering the event, and the police officer suddenly attacked us too. We are filing a complaint now."
She also identified the policeman in the video as Punjagutta ACP M Venkateshwarlu.
"I had just asked him how police people can thrash protesters in this manner, especially women, and he just turned and assaulted me too. He also attacked the cameramen and reporters of V6 Telugu and TV5 News," she added.
A lady journalist lodges complaint on the ACP Punjagutta for misbehaving with her during protest at CM camp office, @NewIndianXpress pic.twitter.com/0ixPVkfSkZ
— Mouly Mareedu (@Mouli_TNIE) August 3, 2017
The Telangana Union of Working Journalists (TUWJ) has strongly condemned the attack, and met Telangana DGP Anurag Sharma to complain of the officer’s misbehaviour.
The DGP promptly ordered an enquiry into the incident, and assured the representatives of TUWJ that action will be taken against any police officers found guilty.
Across country you see welfare schemes we've taken for journalists which no other state has done,will ask police to give report:K Kavitha,MP pic.twitter.com/HzZKvshOow
— ANI (@ANI_news) August 3, 2017