Frustrated police attack media as Godman Rampal continues standoff

As the stand-off between Rampal’s supporters and Hisar police intensified on Tuesday, with firing, tear gas shelling and lathicharge reported, several news agencies reported that police attacked mediapersons present at the site. [caption id=“attachment_1808641” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Police allegedly assaulted mediapersons during the on-going conflict with Rampal’s supporters. PTI[/caption] Among the news agencies alleging assault by police, Times Now reported that their crew was attacked by police in Hisar.

TIMES NOW crew attacked in #WarzoneHisar as tensions escalate

— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) November 18, 2014

NDTV also said that their crew was beaten up by the police and their camera snatched.

NDTV crew beaten, camera snatched by Hisar police at ashram where "godman" Rampal is hiding http://t.co/czp90JzbEb pic.twitter.com/iw7zb7w0wg

— NDTV (@ndtv) November 18, 2014

Shameful scenes of anarchy and absence of control in Haryana. Assaulting journalists while failing arrest #rampal even more abominable

— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) November 18, 2014

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Headlines Today also showed reports of its crew being assaulted by a policeman on site. Morevoer, Haryana Additional Director General of Police Mohammad Akil told Headlines Today, “There was no intention to attack media. We had allotted media persons a spot.” Former Harayana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda condemned the attack on media by Hisar police. “Media persons being attacked is condemnable. They are neutral people. A solution needs to be reached,” said Hooda. Police on Tuesday lobbed teargas shells and used lathicharge to disperse Rampal’s supporters who allegedly fired back. A number of people were injured in the violence at the Satlok Ashram in Hisar district. A senior police official said supporters of the ‘godman’ were firing from inside the ashram but police was exercising maximum possible restraint to minimise casualties. A portion of the outer wall of the ashram had been razed even as thick cloud of smoke was seen inside the premises. Police also said that stones were being hurled at them from inside the Ashram as several followers and Rampal’s ‘private army’ had pitched themselves on the rooftop of the premises. Authorities continued to face an uphill task in dispersing ‘godman’ Rampal’s followers from the Ashram in Barwala. Police said they were facing a hostile crowd, some of them armed, from inside, but they were using restraint to keep the casualities to the minimum. The stand-off of several days between the authorities and Rampal’s supporters took a violent turn as the Haryana government was racing against time to get hold of the ‘godman’ to meet the deadline of Friday set by Punjab and Haryana High Court for producing him in a contempt case. (With inputs from PTI)