Editors Guild says arrest of on-duty journalist in Sandeshkhali 'worrisome'
New Delhi/Kolkata, Feb 20: The Editors Guild of India on Tuesday termed as "worrisome" the arrest of an on-duty television journalist by the West Bengal Police.
In a statement here, the Guild said the journalist -- Santu Pan -- was reporting live on television when he was whisked away by policemen.
Pan, a journalist with Republic Bangla, was arrested from Sandeshkhali in West Bengal on Monday late evening.
"His arrest while on duty is worrisome," the Guild said.
The statement said the police should certainly investigate if allegations have been levelled against the journalist but to take him away while he was reporting is indeed a cause for concern.
"The Editors Guild calls on the administration in West Bengal to conduct a speedy inquiry and ensure that no injustice is done to Pan. The government must also do everything it can to protect freedom of the press," the statement said.
The Kolkata Press Club also condemned his arrest and demanded his immediate release.
"We demand his immediate release. If there is any specific allegation against him, it is subject to investigation. But the Kolkata Press Club registers its protest against the arrest of an on-duty journalist," it said in a statement.
The police said the journalist was arrested following a complaint of barging into the residence of a local woman.
"We have arrested him based on a complaint filed by a woman in the Sandeshkhali area where she has alleged that this journalist had barged into her house when she was not properly dressed and started shooting it", a senior police officer said.
EGI statement on the arrest of Republic Bangla journalist in West Bengal pic.twitter.com/HeamofaRmH
— Editors Guild of India (@IndEditorsGuild) February 20, 2024
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
