Kolkata City scribes slam cops’ TV plot to net Mahato

Journalists in Kolkata today strongly protested the state government’s decision to clear an operation in which policemen posing as journalists nabbed tribal leader Chhatradhar Mahato.

At a meet organised by Press Club, journalists said the police action had maligned the profession and jeopardized the security of mediapersons engaged in news gathering in troubled regions.

The members of the fraternity demanded an apology from the state government and action against the guilty police officers.

A resolution adopted at the meeting will be sent to the Prime Minister, the President, the Press Club of India and also the International Federation of Journalists.

Legal action would also be considered, the members decided.

Senior members of the journalistic fraternity also criticised the way the undercover policemen first won the trust of reporters who had been in contact with Mahato and then used them as a part of their plan. IE