Azad Maidan: Media targeted,photographers bear the brunt

“I have no clue where my camera is now. They seized it,took the film and beat me up. Some of the protesters came to my rescue and gave me a cap similar to theirs. They told the others to calm down,saying I was one of them,” Sawant said.

Sawant,who suffered injuries on his head and cheek,said some protesters got him in a car and asked the driver to drop him off somewhere away from Azad Maidan. Sawant then went St George Hospital,where his X-ray and a CT-scan were done.

Meanwhile,a photographer alleged that the police personnel present at the site roughed him up while trying to control the crowd.

“Some protesters attacked me when I was clicking pictures,but their colleagues dissuaded them. Later,I spotted a few people beating up someone who looked like a Muslim leader and went to take their photo. The police personnel at the site then beat me up,” said Atul Kamble,a photographer with MiD-Day. He suffered external injuries on the hands,legs,head and back.

Two photographers with The Indian Express — Prashant Nadkar and Ganesh Shirsekar — were also assaulted and threatened by the mob. “I was going towards the television OB vans outside Azad Maidan around 3.30 pm when a group stopped me. They were targeting anyone with a camera. I tried to to pacify them and managed to escape later,” Nadkar said.

Vivek Bendre,a photographer with The Hindu,was also beaten up by the mob. He suffered external injuries. Bendre said he ran from the crowd and took refuge at the Press Club nearby. A few mediapersons present there took him in.