Journalists in Cooch Behar

West Bengal

HRDA has issued an urgent appeal to the National Human Rights Commission of India on 15 June regarding the attack on a group of journalists who were mercilessly beaten at the Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Cooch Behar, while they had been reporting an incident. Mr. Subhendu Bhattacharya, Mr. Debasish Mukherjee, Mr. Darpan Pran Pratim Pal, Mr. Sashikesh Roy, Mr. Hirak Roy, Mr. Bipul Das, Mr. Ashok Dey –are local representatives of different media publications from West Bengal; they were all attacked.

A group of journalists had gone to the Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya on the morning of April 21, 2017, to check the ground reality on hearing that students had gheraoed the Dean of the university, Mr. Tapan Kumar Hath, in his chamber. Right from their entrance, to the university campus, they were not allowed to click pictures and their cameras were snatched. They were not allowed to collect any information.

Mr. Subhendu Bhattacharya was brutally attacked, along with other journalists. Other journalists who were assaulted during the scuffle incident were Mr. Debasish Mukherjee, Mr. Darpan Pran Pratim Pal, Mr. Sashikesh Roy, Mr. Hirak Roy, Mr. Bipul Das, Mr. Ashok Dey and few others. Six journalists were admitted to Cooch Behar’s MJN hospital in a critical condition.