The four Kashmir news photographers who were injured near Shopian in south Kashmir on Tuesday after being fired at with pellet guns by Indian security forces were all wearing jackets identifying them as media personnel and caps with “Press’ emblazoned on them.
Accounts of the incident in Rising Kashmir and Hindustan Times show that the photographers also clearly identified themselves to the security folk, by waving their cameras to them.
HT’s Waseem Andrabi, one of the photographers, is quoted as saying:
“I waved my camera towards the forces to indicate that were are journalists on professional duty. As we reached the middle of the road, the forces shot pellets at us.”
“All of us had prominently displayed our press cards and some were wearing bullet-proof jackets. But as soon as I raised my camera to show it to the police and CRPF forces positioned at the other end, pellets were showered on us.”
Kashmir Police say it was an accident; CRPF says its men did not fire the pellets.
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The Kashmir Editors Guild condemned the incident and said this was not the first time security forces had targeted journalists in the line of duty. “This has become a routine. The attacks on the media are detrimental to the the very existence of a society in the 21st century.”
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