SHO Shergarhi among three attached for assaulting journalists

JAMMU: The Station House Officers (SHOs) of Srinagar’s Shergarhi and Maisuma police stations were attached and six other police officers were transferred on Wednesday as punitive action was initiated against them for assaulting journalists in the city here.

Aftab Ahmad Bhat, the SHO of Shergarhi police station, had yesterday led the assault against the journalists who had gathered at Jehangir Chowk to cover a Muharram procession.

The officer has now been attached to the District Police Lines (DPL) following instructions by Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh who had termed the assault on journalists as “undesirable behaviour” and directed the SSP Srinagar to “take immediate action against the erring officials”.

Sources in the police department told The Kashmir Walla that several senior officials wanted action to be taken against the cops for beating up the journalists who were doing their duty.

“The other police officials attached to the DPL include SHO Maisuma Mushtaq Ahmad and Sub-Inspector Ghulam Mustafa of Police Post Nehru Park,” said a senior police official.

The officers who have been transferred include SHO Kothi Bagh Mohammad Ishaq (now posted as SHO Raj Bagh), SHO Raj Bagh Mudassar Nazar (now posted as SHO Kothi Bagh), Incharge PP Bagyas Manzoor Ahmad (now posted as in-charge PP Nehru Park), Sheikh Adil, who was in DPL Srinagar, has been posted as incharge PP Bagyas, Incharge PP Urdu Bazar Showkat Darzi has been posted as SHO Maisuma and SHO Nishat Zaheer Nisar has been posted as incharge PP Urdu Bazar.

The video of the assault on journalists, which took place meters away from the civil secretariat – the seat of the governance, had gone viral on social media.

At least six journalists, mostly photojournalists, spoke to The TNN after the incident and said that SHO Shergarhi police station had first abused them, and when they objected to it, they were all beaten up. The videos shot by several journalists show the police official leading the assault on the journalists as other policemen carrying sticks and assault rifles also join the assault.