NHRC seeks report on attacks against journalists in Kerala, Manipur, Tripura

New Delhi, Oct 23 (IANS) The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognisance of media reports about attacks on three journalists in separate incidents in Kerala, Manipur, and Tripura.

The incidents reportedly occurred on August 30 in Kerala and Manipur, and on September 21 in Tripura.

Taking serious note of the reports, the apex human rights body has issued notices to the Directors General of Police of the three states, seeking detailed reports on the matters within two weeks.

According to the press reports, in Tripura, a journalist was assaulted by a group of miscreants armed with sticks and sharp weapons while attending a clothes distribution programme organised by a political party in the Hezamara area of West Tripura. His motorcycle was also stolen.

In Manipur, a journalist covering a flower festival in Laii village of Senapati district was attacked and shot twice with an air gun, sustaining severe injuries.

In Kerala, another journalist was assaulted by a group of people near Mangattukavala in Thodupuzha while returning from a wedding function.

Reportedly, in all three cases, the victims were hospitalised for treatment and FIRs were registered by the police.

Established under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, the NHRC, an autonomous statutory body, is an embodiment of India's concern for the promotion and protection of human rights. Its primary role is to protect and promote human rights, defined as the rights relating to life, liberty, equality, and dignity of individuals guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in international covenants and enforceable by courts in India. The apex human rights body has the power to take suo motu (on its own motion) action based on media reports, public knowledge or other sources, without receiving a formal complaint of human rights violations.

--IANS


pds/vd