Arunachal journalists' unions condemn alleged assault on Pasighat scribe, urge legal action

The Arunachal Pradesh Union of Working Journalists (APUWJ), Arunachal Press Club (APC) and Pasighat Press Club (PPC) condemned the alleged harassment and attempted assault of Toram Melong, a reporter for Pasighat's Hills News.

The apex media bodies referenced the FIR filed by the reporter, in which he alleged that he was verbally abused along with his wife while they were purchasing a birthday gift at Medical Chariali.

In the FIR, Melong has stated, "While we were at the shop, one of the boys remarked, "HILLS NEWS REPORTER," and all of them started using abusive and vulgar language against me repeatedly. I turned to the boy wearing sunglasses and asked, "Brother, are you talking about me? What happened?" Immediately, the boy without clothes and the one wearing sunglasses attempted to attack me. I stepped back, and as they approached, 1 noticed the boy without clothes smelled heavily of alcohol and the boy who was wearing jumper snatch my 1-phone while taking photographs for further records."

The three accused have been identified as Kaling Tamuk, a resident of Tebo, GTC; another was without clothes, namely Nyolon Taknyo (Doming), resident of Sibo Village; and the third, donning a jumper is yet to be identified.

As per the FIR, two of the boys attacked Melong, and amongst those, one was intoxicated. They snatched the phone of the reporter, and also tried to attack his wife in public space.       

A formal FIR was lodged by the journalist in the Pasighat Police station, East Siang district on October 14.

APUWJ, APC and PPC in a joint statement expressed deep concern over the incident and emphasised that such occurrences are unacceptable for a democratic society.

They also appealed to the police department to ensure the safety of the journalists in the district and ensure proper legal action against the miscreants.

“Journalists play a crucial role in bringing important issues to light, and their safety must be a top priority. Any attempt to intimidate or harm them is an attack on the freedom of the press and democracy itself,” the media bodies said in the statement.