On Thursday (5th October), a reporter working for Republic TV Bangla was brutally attacked by TMC Councillor Sukumar Mondal and his aides during a live show outside Bengal Food Minister Rathin Ghosh’s residence in the north 24 Parganas district. The reporter identified as Saikat Pal along with VJ Raj Shekhar Das was reporting on the latest scam against the TMC government when the TMC councillor abused the team and even destroyed the camera.
The entire incident was recorded on camera as the reporters were live for the Republic Bangla TV show ‘Jabab Chai Bangla’ at 8 pm. It is notable that yesterday the ED raided several locations linked to Rathin Das, including his residence, in connection to a municipal recruitment scam.
According to the information, the reporter was on duty, covering searches by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on 12 properties associated with West Bengal Food and Supplies Minister Rathin Ghosh. He is being investigated by the ED for an alleged scam in the recruitment in state municipalities. Notably, the raids on Ghosh’s premises have been ongoing for almost 17 hours.
Irked by Republic Bangla’s reporter’s questions, the TMC councilor attempted to conceal the largest raid in Bengal at the time and pushed the crew around while attempting to steal the camera.
Several BJP leaders took cognizance of the incident and lashed out at the TMC government for attacking the media persons. BJP leader Priyanka Tibrewal said, “They attacked the reporter because they are nervous as the raids are underway. Why didn’t the police present there take action against the attacker?”
Meanwhile, BJP leader Amit Malviya also extended support to the media persons saying, “It is just another day in West Bengal. Republic Bangla’s reporter Saikat is beaten up by TMC goons, outside Bengal Food Minister Rathin Ghosh’s house. Saikat’s crime? He was covering the ED raid on Rathin. Shame on Mamata Banerjee for assaulting the media.”
It is just another day in West Bengal. Republic Bangla’s reporter Saikat is beaten up by TMC goons, outside Bengal Food Minister Rathin Ghosh's house. Saikat’s crime? He was covering ED raid on Rathin. Shame on Mamata Banerjee for assaulting the media.
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) October 5, 2023
What is more ironic is…
“What is more ironic is that none of the mandarins, who were shedding copious tears for Chinese-funded journalists, undermining India’s interest, will spend their ink for Saikat,” he added.
Similar comments were made by the national BJP spokesperson, Shehzad Poonawalla who said, “TMC means ‘Talibani mindset and culture.’ This is an attack on the fourth pillar of democracy. Those who stand with NewsClick will not utter a word on this incident.”
'TMC means 'Talibani mindset and culture.' This is an attack on the fourth pillar of democracy. Those who stand with NewsClick won't utter a single word on this incident, says BJP National Spokesperson @Shehzad_Ind while speaking to Republic. #TMC #BJP #ShehzadPoonawalla… pic.twitter.com/Ro0KdzNG7i
— Republic (@republic) October 6, 2023
This is not the first time when a reporter from Republic TV has been attacked. Earlier, in June 2022, a female reporter associated with Republic Bangla was manhandled by a Trinamool Congress (TMC) worker in Bhatpara city in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. The video of the incident was caught on camera wherein the TMC goon could be seen pushing and assaulting the female journalist.
The female journalist had spotted a woman who entered the polling booth without an ID card. On confronting her, the woman confessed that she was there to ‘watch over’ the polls. Soon after, the Trinamool Congress worker began heckling the journalist and then launched a full-blown attack.
In January 2022, Anupama Jha, a Noida-based journalist of Republic Bharat was attacked by a group of people in the city of Ferozepur, Punjab. This was on the very same day when the then Congress-ruled state of Punjab made a seemingly deliberate attempt to endanger Prime Minister Modi’s security by allowing the protesters to block the Prime Minister’s convoy during his visit to the state.
In the year 2020, it was also reported that Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami and his wife were attacked by two Congress goons in the wee hours of the night. The Congress goons hurled bottles at the car and hurled abuses at Arnab Goswami for questioning Sonia Gandhi for being silent on the Palghar lynching case. The attack reportedly happened 500 meters away from Goswami’s residence in Mumbai. The assailants were then held at the NM Joshi Marg Police Station in Mumbai.
In the current case, Goswami has condemned the attack and has questioned whether reporting raids on the residence of a TMC leader in West Bengal is a crime.
