Locked up, stripped, journalist made to drink urine in UP's Shamli, SHO suspended

In a shocking incident, a journalist was inhumanly tortured by a group of policemen in Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli. The incident came to light after the video of the assault went viral. The victim has been identified as one Amit Sharma, who works with a news channel. Sharma had gone to Dhimanpura on Tuesday night for covering the derailment of a goods train, when the railway police personnel cornered him. Before he could reason with them, Sharma was mercilessly thrashed, dragged to a police chowki.

#VIDEO Shamli: GRP personnel thrash a journalist who was covering the goods train derailment near Dhimanpura tonight. He says, "They were in plain clothes. One hit my camera⁢ fell down. When I picked it up they hit&abused me. I was locked up, stripped&they urinated in my mouth" pic.twitter.com/1KYM3Z2cQj

— News Nation (@NewsNationTV) June 12, 2019

The incident was captured on camera by an onlooker, which later went viral. Recalling his ordeal, Sharma said that he was made to ‘drink urine’ by the railway policemen. There are reports that cops were angry with him as Sharma had reported about illegal hawkers in the trains.

We have come across a video where a journalist has been beaten up & put up in a lock up. DGP UP OP Singh has ordered for immediate suspension of SHO GRP Shamli Rakesh Kumar & Const. Sanjay Pawar.
Strict punishment shall be accorded to policemen misbehaving with citizens.

— UP POLICE (@Uppolice) June 12, 2019

As the incident sparked massive outrage, the Uttar Pradesh Police has suspended the erring officials. “We have come across a video where a journalist has been beaten up & put up in a lock up. DGP UP OP Singh has ordered for immediate suspension of SHO GRP Shamli Rakesh Kumar & Const. Sanjay Pawar. Strict punishment shall be accorded to policemen misbehaving with citizens,” the official Twitter handle of the UP Police said on Tuesday.

The Shamli incident is yet another attack involving a journalist in Uttar Pradesh in recent times. On Monday, the Supreme Court had ordered the UP Police to release a journalist, who was put behind bars for allegedly defaming Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

“Liberty of citizen is sacrosanct and non-negotiable. It is guaranteed by the Constitution and it cannot be infringed,” Justice Indira Banerjee said while slamming UP police for arresting journalist Kanojia for allegedly inflammatory and defamatory tweet by him. The top court also questioned the UP police over necessity of arrest for alleged defamatory tweets. The apex court also slammed the Magistrate, who had sent Kanojia for 11 days judicial remand. During hearing, Justice Banerjee said that, “Even we take in a lot from social media, but does that mean incarceration? Show your magnanimity.” In the reply, the Additional Solicitor General said that, “Then let it be not seen as an endorsement of his tweets.” To this, Justice Banerjee said, “Very wrong to think whatever uploaded will be swallowed by the public. People are educated.”

Kanojia had shared a video on Twitter and Facebook where a woman is seen speaking to reporters of various media organisations outside the CM office claiming that she had sent a marriage proposal to the CM.