After the Editors Guild of India issued a statement condemning the attack on media personnel in New Delhi and Bengaluru on 11th August, Suvarna News has issued a statement slamming the Editors Guild for spreading fake news.
Suvarna News has clarified that its journalists were not attacked by police as alleged by the Editors Guild, but they came under the attack of Muslim mob that had attacked two police stations in Bengaluru in reaction a Facebook post by Naveen, the nephew of Congress MLA R Akhanda Srinivasmurthy. The mob had alleged that Naveen had caused blasphemy against the prophet Muhammad, and attacked the police forces alleging inaction against Naveen by the police.
During the violence by the Muslim mob where they have attacked policemen and burnt down hundreds of vehicles, several media personnel covering the riot also came under their attack. But in the statement condemning the attack on journalists, the Editors Guild sought to defend the mob and instead blamed police for the attack on the reporters.
The statement had read, “on the same day in Bengaluru, as many as four journalists belonging to India Today, The News Minute and Suvarna News 24×7 were reportedly attacked by the city police. These journalists at that time were on duty, reporting on the vandalism and police shooting in the wake of a mob violence in the city.”
But Suvarna News 24×7 completely denied that allegation that their reporters were attacked by Bengaluru city police. The media house thanked the Editors Guild for their concern and condemnation of the attacked on their journalists, but added that the guild has got the identity of the attackers wrong.
“However, we would like to clarify that the attack on our journalists was by the mob and not the Bangalore City Police, as was indicated in the statement released by Editors Guild of India on 13th August,” the statement issued by Suvarna News said.
The channel informed that three of their reporters were beaten and one of them suffered injuries in the incident. Moreover, one camera and two news gathering vehicles of the media house were damaged by the mob during the riot, and the channel had subsequently filed FIR against the miscreants with the Bangalore City Police.
It is clear from the statement of Suvarna News that their reporters were attacked and their equipment were damaged by the Muslim mob in Bengaluru, but for some reason the Editors Guild chose to blame the Bangalore police for the same, who were actually the target of the mob.
