|
|
| CURRENT AFFAIRS |
|
KARNATAKA |
|
“The incident we have reported is shameful, not the visuals we have shown”
A first person account of Naveen Soorinje, the reporter from Kasturi channel, which first aired the visuals of the Mangalore resort attack case
At 6.45 pm on July 28, one of my sources from Padil (in Mangalore) called me. This was all he told me: "Naveen, around 30 men have gathered near the Timber Yard in Padil Junction and I overheard them talking to someone trying to coax them to gather some more people. They were instructing someone to be prepared with their bikes. It looks like they are planning to attack the guest house in Padil. I overheard them saying something like Muslim boys and Hindu girls.”
I asked him to find out which organisation the men belonged to. All he could gather was that they were from some Hindutva organisation, though he could not find out the name of the organisation they belonged to.
The immediate thought that crossed my mind was whether to inform the police right away or not. The dilemma was because there was no accurate information as to who belonging to which organisation was to attack whom and where. I just had basic information. If the members of the organisation had called me, I could have informed the police instantly. As the news came from a source, I thought I should inform the police only after confirming the news. My cameraman and I went on my bike to Padil.
When my cameraman and I arrived at the home stay named Morning Mist, located on the hill in Padil, none of the attackers were present at the spot. We stood near the gate for five minutes, unable to understand why anyone would plan to attack that particular home stay which is located half a kilometre away from the highway cutting through Padil. The home stay is surrounded by a tall compound wall. There is only one gate and 60 meters from the gate is the home stay. There was nothing happening inside that could conceivably provoke an attack. A girl was sitting outside on a chair and two boys in another corner of the bungalow seemed to be absorbed in playing games on their cell phone. They were not indulging in any activity which can be considered illegal. That is the reason why I did not inform the police at that point of time. If my information turned out to be wrong, it would unnecessarily cause an anxiety for the police.
While I was thinking all this, I saw a group of over 30 people coming towards the home stay. Out of curiosity I asked them in Tulu, “Do you know what the matter is? What is happening here?” Some boys in the group pointed to the girl sitting outside saying, “Look, there is the girl and there are the guys…” They ran towards the boys and the girl, all set to attack. The girl, who realised that the group was there to attack, ran inside the home stay and tried to close the door unsuccessfully. They ran towards the door and managed to open it before the girl could close the door.
It was then that I realised what was happening. I immediately called Ravish Nayak, Inspector, Mangalore (Rural) from my official number. That must have been around 7.15 pm. Ravish Nayak did not receive my call. On the other hand, the assault had just begun. The girls started running helter-skelter, failing to understand what was happening. The police personnel were not receiving the calls being made. I asked my friend Rajesh Rao of TV9 to call the police and Ravish Nayak did not receive the call made by Rajesh Rao either.
While I was trying to get in touch with the police inspector, the cameraman ran behind the attackers and started recording the incident. Till then only my cameraman and I were present at the spot but we were soon joined by the cameraman of Sahaya TV Sharan and a photographer Vinay Krishna. I was a mute witness to all that was happening there, with the guilt of not being able to do anything. More than half the attackers were in an inebriated state and were not in a position to listen to anything. I had witnessed violent incidents in my life, but never of this scale and nature. Our cameraman was following the group wherever they were attacking the boys. I was watching it, screaming and requesting, “Don’t hit the girls.” My request reached the camera microphone but did not reach the attackers. The boys who were attacked were pleading, “Please leave us. We are having a birthday party here. Please…” and were falling at the feet of the attackers. But nothing moved the attackers. If it were to be just this, probably I could have forgotten the incident. But I saw something much more terrible and shocking.
The girls were shocked to see the boys being trashed and ran in all directions only to be followed by the attackers. One of the girls jumped from the first floor but was caught by nearly 20 attackers who began to pull out her clothes. They slapped her and pushed her against the wall. The attackers also managed to catch another girl, who was trying to run away. They literally stripped her naked; leaving her with only one piece of cloth, the assailants molested her. This sight sent a chill down my spine. Never in my life had I seen something as horrific as this, though I had heard of such things. These were the scenes which could not become visuals for the news. Only a portion of the incident was shot. Later on, all the boys and girls partying there were locked inside a room. All this happened in a matter of 15 minutes.
The girls were shocked to see the boys being trashed and ran in all directions only to be followed by the attackers. One of the girls jumped from the first floor but was caught by nearly 20 attackers who began to pull out her clothes. They slapped her and pushed her against the wall. The attackers also managed to catch another girl, who was trying to run away. They literally stripped her naked; leaving her with only one piece of cloth, the assailants molested her. This sight sent a chill down my spine. Never in my life had I seen something as horrific as this, though I had heard of such things. These were the scenes which could not become visuals for the news. Only a portion of the incident was shot. Later on, all the boys and girls partying there were locked inside a room. All this happened in a matter of 15 minutes.
By then many media persons had arrived at the spot. My cameraman and I returned to the office and sent all the visuals to the Bangalore office. At 8.45 pm the news was aired. Within no time the visuals of our channel was used by national channels and thus the incident became national news. This angered city police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar who called my friend Rajesh Rao of TV9 who then was with me. Rajesh put the call on loud speaker while Seemanth Kumar was saying, “Why should Naveen have reported the incident? I will teach him a lesson. He not only compared this incident to the Assam incident, but also said that Mangalore is being Talibanised. This time he will be taught a lesson. We will fix him in this case and none of his contacts at any level will be of any help.” It is clear from Seemanth Kumar's words that his concern was not the attack itself, but the fact that the attack was being reported.
This morning I received yet another shock. The boys and girls who were attacked, had given statements against me at the Mangalore (Rural) police station. I was sure that those statements were given under pressure. I guess the boys and girls had heard me requesting the assailants not to trash them. By evening my doubt was cleared. Speaking to the media the boys and girls said, “We haven’t complained against the media. They have stood in our support.”
Mangalore (Rural) police have filed a case against me under the Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. The police have arrested eight of the assailants with the help of our visuals. The incident we have reported is shameful, not the visuals we have shown. The 28 July incident at Mangalore is neither a stray incident nor are such attacks in Mangalore a new phenomenon. Every week such incidents take place. Fundamentalists not only attack boys and girls mixing with the boys and girls belonging to other religions, but also take them to the police station. This incident would have taken place even if I had not shot it. Our recording has revealed the inhuman face of the fascists and has led to the arrest of eight attackers. No matter what is said and what cases are booked against me, I believe I have done my duty as a reporter and that is the only satisfaction to my hurt self.
It doesn’t matter to me that there are complaints filed against me and an FIR has been lodged. I will be happy if the attackers are punished because of the FIR lodged against me. If I am to be freed of these charges because of some pressure and if that is going to benefit the the attackers in any way, then I do not need such freedom. No matter what punishment is given to the attackers, it will never do justice to those girls who were assaulted right in front of my eyes. Yet the attackers need to be punished.
|
