Rights body seeks report on assault of journalist in UP's Shamli dist

Lucknow: Taking suo motu cognisance of media reports, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Friday issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh DGP, seeking a report within four weeks on the assault of a TV journalist in Shamli on Tuesday.

The human rights body sought a detailed report from the DGP, including action taken against the guilty public servants and the status of the FIR registered against them, an NHRC press release said.

In its notice, the NHRC said just a few hours after the Supreme Court ordered the release of a journalist, Amit Sharma was brutally assaulted by an SHO of the Government Railway Police (GRP). The victim has claimed that he was stripped and the SHO urinated in his mouth, the release said.

The GRP has, however, denied this charge.

The commission observed that the contents of media reports, if true, amount to a gross violation of the victim's human rights. "Going by the reported allegations, this kind of cruel and uncivilised act by a public servant is highly disgraceful and cannot be tolerated in a civilised society," the release read.

"Stern action should be taken against the police personnel if found guilty so that such a barbaric act is not repeated by any public servant in future," the human rights body stated in the release.

A case was against four police personnel, including SHO Rakesh Kumar, on Wednesday under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for causing hurt, insult, robbery and wrongful confinement.

Of the four GRP officers, SHO Rakesh Kumar and constable Sanjay Pawar were suspended. The incident had taken place after the policemen entered into an argument with Sharma when he was covering the derailment of a goods train in Shamli on June 11.