Terming the attack as “barbaric and anti-democratic”, the BJP demanded immediate arrest of the culprits.

The media fraternity of the district also condemned the attack on mediapersons and demanded that the culprits be identified and brought to book.

Protests against the attack on mediapersons were staged in different parts of the State.

Our Correspondents report –

Tinsukia: The attack on journalists during yesterday’s bandh was vehemently condemned in an urgent joint meeting of the scribes of Tinsukia district held at the Tinsukia Press Club today. The meeting gave the authorities seven days’ time for apprehending the culprits responsible for the brutal attack.

The scribes stated that although several such incidents had happened in the State earlier, yesterday’s incident was the first of its kind in that the journalists were attacked while covering the bandh. For this, the responsibility must be owned by the organization sponsoring the bandh, the scribes attending the meeting said.

The Tinsukia scribes decided to resort to a silent rally wearing black badges from its office to the Deputy Commissioner’s Office, where it will sit in a one-hour sit-in dharna tomorrow. President and secretaries of the Tinsukia District Jounalists’ Association, Tinsukia Press Club and Tinsukia District E-Media Forum were also present in the meeting.

Tezpur: A protest programme has been scheduled on August 31 in which scribes would wear black badges in protest against the attack on scribes during the AAMSU-sponsored bandh yesterday.

All Assam Journalists’ Union (AAJU) president and secretary, Ruhini Kumar Medhi and Pankaj Kumar Nath, in a press statement appealed to all scribes to register a strong protest agianst the attack on journalists.

Condemning the incident vehemently, they said, “Committing such a heinous act like attack on the fourth pillar of democracy is nothing but a threat to the right to speech and democracy seriously posed by communal forces”.

Raha: The Raha Press Club on Wednesday condemned in strongest words the attack on journalists at Barpeta, Tezpur, Goalpara and Sivasagar during yesterday’s bandh. In a meeting the Press Club asked the authorities concerned to take strong action against the culprits. Of late, there has been a rise in attacks on journalists. The government and the police have failed to put a tab on these incidents, the meeting observed.