The Editors Guild of India on Monday issued a press release condemning the various acts of violence and brutality against media persons committed by the police forces in Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh.

“The Editors Guild of India condemns the various acts of violence and brutality commited by police forces, in particular those in Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh against media persons in different parts of the country in the last one week” the press release stated.

“The guild reminds the police forces across the country that journalists are present at different venues where protests are taking place, as part of their constitutionally guaranteed duties of gathering information and disseminating it among the people through their respective media platforms. Using force or physical violence against journalists on duty throttles the very voice of democracy and media freedon” the release further added.

READ ALSO: Police man handles Journalist covering protest against CAA, NRC in Mangaluru

 

The Guild also called upon Home Ministry to direct police forces in all the states to offer protection to the journalists engaged in coverage of the ongoing protests.

“The Guild urges Union Home Ministry to direct police forces in different states to offer adequate protection to journalists engaged in coverage of the ongoing protests. Instead of targeting them for physical attack, the need of the hour is to ensure proper and responsible coverage, a goal that cannot be achieved by such acts of violence and brutality against journalists on duty” the press statement further added.

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Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.

The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.

At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.

According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.

An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.

“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.

The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.

Police have since launched a search for the suspects.

South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.

The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.

According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.