A number of city-based scribes demonstrated their anger against the abusers of a lady reporter recently in the press club auditorium and demanded stern actions against the culprits. Organized by the Journalist Union of Assam, affiliated to IJU, the protest demonstration on 19 January 2021 drew the attention and supports from hundreds of media personnel.

Mentionable is that the reporter, associated with a popular Assamese daily newspaper, was verbally and physically abused by the press meet convenors namely film producer Umashankar Jha and his associate Pranjal Gogoi on Saturday and she has already lodged an FIR at Panbazar all-women police station in the city.

Various media organizations including the Journalists’ Forum Assam (JFA) expressed serious concerns over the unprecedented incident and demanded exemplary punishments to the abusers.  JFA President Rupam Barua and Secretary Nava Thakuria urged all sensitive and responsible members of the press club to stand united against the offence.

They also asked the press club authority, which also released a condemnation statement earlier identifying the victim lady but cleverly avoiding the names of accused individuals, to fully cooperate with the investigating police personnel. The forum also appealed to the State police chief Bhaskarjyoti  Mahanta to take a personal interest in punishing the culprits at the earliest.