A video of a Bengaluru police official throwing away the microphone of a Kannada news channel reporter has been circulating on social media and raised questions over the behaviour of the police in controlling the protest which broke out in Bengaluru over the revised PF policy.
On Tuesday, Shivu, reporter with Samaya News, a Kannada news channel, was reporting from Goruguntepalya near Jalahalli area, which was one of the spots of the protest when the incident happened.
The twenty-eight-year-old reporter has been a political reporter with the channel for close to two years. Shivu told The News Minute that the incident happened when he was on live telecast, for which he had taken permission from police as a precaution.
"It happened at around 1:30 pm. I found 20 women standing. Fifty meters from the spot, the road was packed with over 2000 garment factory employees. I was there for about 10 to 15 minutes before I went live," he said.
"Initially it was only about the protest. I had to speak to the women there and get them to speak. But by the time I had started my live telecast, there were over 4 police officials including Additional commissioner Charan Reddy, who dragged me out of the spot near the women and kept pushing me away towards my office van," he said.
"However, I went on with my telecast and also spoke about how the police officials are not letting us do our job too. That is when Add. CP Reddy snatched the microphone and threw it away," he said adding that minutes after that there was lathicharge on the huge crowd of protesters.
Shivu had brought this to the notice of CM Siddaramaiah and home minister G. Parameshwara on Thursday.
"They have said that strict action would be taken against the officials," he added.
On Tuesday, a reporter from Janasri News was allegedly beaten up by the police while he was interviewing some of the women protesters on Hosur road.
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