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Last updated Friday June 29, 2012

MEDIA, SAFETY, RIGHTS, ODISHA

Media persons attacked in Bargarh, Odisha becoming hell for journalists

"Cases of Journalists being attacked by evil forces in Odisha are increasing day by day. Even after repeated appeals by media persons and media rights organisations, Odisha government is yet to take the safety issues of journalists seriously. The callousness from the government drives Odisha to become a hell for journalists and a place of difficulties for the profession of journalism."

HNF Correspondent

This video shows how media persons were attacked in 'The Child' by Dr Prafulla Patra and family in Bargarh of Odisha

Attacks on media persons by evil powers of Society in Odisha are still on. In another such incident journalists and media were attacked on 19^th June 2012 by a Paediatric Specialist Dr Prafulla Patra owning a private clinic “The Child”.

As per an FIR filed by the media persons the Doctor and his family man handled and did literally beat the media person in his private Clinic (See the video in left) when he was asked about a specific allegation of harassing a dalit family for giving the bill for the amount it charged against few days treatment of a seven month old baby. The reporters and media persons attacked were Byomakesh Kara of a local TV news channel Kamyab TV, Rajesh Saraf of Naxatra TV, Badriprasad Sahu of Seashore TV, Sanjib Mahapatra, Editor of Local Odia weekly ‘Kosal Times’.

Background of the case

Reports said that one Kishore Chandra Meher of village Kandlei in Balangir district had admitted his seven-month old daughter on April 27 in Child Care Nursing Home run by Dr. Patra. However, as the condition of the girl child did not improve even after 14-days of treatment and the parents of the baby saw their child was not given due attention, the parents wanted to shift the girl child to VSS Medical College Hospital in Burla and asked Dr Patra to discharge the baby. Dr. Patra while referring the seek baby to VSS Medical at Burla charged Rs. 23,000 to Kishore Chandra Meher without giving any instant Bill but asking the parents to come later and take the bill. In the meantime, the mother of the baby went under severe mental stress seeing her daughter kept in a very unhealthy space in the clinic and given no proper medical attention.

The plight of the innocent family didn’t end here but it was just the beginning. Once the daughter got well with treatment at VSS Medical College Hospital, Kishore again turned up to ‘The Child’ to collect the bill. Instead of 23000 rupees, as Kishore paid to the Clinic authorities while shifting his daughter, a bill for 16000 rupees was only given. When Kishore objected to this, that bill was also torn by Dr Patro as a straight denial to give any bill from the Clinic.

Finding no other way, Kishore then approached the Reporters and explained the kind of harassment he had been facing from the Doctor.

Reason of attack

Realising that a proper bill would really help the poor man to seek some aid from the government as he was also a dalit, the reporters with their crew visited the private hospital and asked the doctor about the case. As the doctor denied to have admitted any such patient in his clinic, Kishore was presented by the reporters and it made the Doctor angry. When the media persons also raised the issue of negligence during treatment of the baby and insisted that a bill for the exact amount be given to Kishore, the Doctor and his wife were almost enraged and started physically assaulting the scribes as seen in the video (see at the top of the report).

This is the second assault on media persons by Dr Patra. Earlier, Dr Patra misbehaved another journalist Ashok Pradhan working with the Times of India newspaper.

Police inaction

An FIR has been submitted by the assaulted reporters after the incident. But there has been no arrest so far. When representatives of District Journalists’ forums wanted to know the status of the case, Police just washed its hands saying that the Doctor and his wife are absconding and are still untraceable. The clinic is locked since the next day.

MUFP condemned the act of assault on media persons

The Media Unity for Freedom of Press ( MUFP ) condemns in the strongest terms the physical attack by a doctor and his family members in Bargarh on four media persons on the 19th of June 2012. This happened when the four had gone to meet with paediatrician Dr Prafulla Patra who runs a nursing home at Khajurtikra in Bargarh to seek relief for a poor patient.

The MUFP while expressing its solidarity with the Bargarh Sambadika Sangha demands the immediate arrest of the doctor and stringent action against him for this criminal act as well as other illegal activities at the earliest.

An FIR has been lodged against the doctor and his family for the criminal offence but the local police are yet to arrest the culprits.Members of Bargarh Sambadik Sangha led by its President Shankar Ballav Mishra have already called on the Bargarh District Collector Bhabagrahi Mishra on Friday to demand the arrest of paediatrician for assaulting four media persons. Reportedly the Dr. Patra has been posted in Kalahandi district he has been on leave and running a Nursing Home in Bargarh.

The MUFP considers the attack on the Bargarh-based journalists as a direct attack on freedom of press and human values and expects the district administration as well as the state government to take appropriate action against the accused doctor and his family members without any further delay.

The MUFP also wishes to assure the media colleagues in Bargarh that it stands solidly behind them and will do it best to ensure the guilty is punished and justice delivered to the fellow professionals who were subjected to physical assault by the doctor and his family.

MUFP held a protest demonstration under the 'Freedom Tree' in front of Jaydev Bhavan in Bhubaneswar at 10.30 AM, June 26, 2012 where it sought stringent action against the culprits.

It’s to be noted that Dr Patra was a Government Doctor in Bargarh District and was transferred to Kalahandi district in 2009. Even though Patra was relieved from Bargarh, he didn’t join in kalahandi but running the nursing home. It’s not known whether the Doctor is still on leave or continue to be an absentee without intimation.

Series of events in the particular case raise more questions apart from the simple allegations of assault. It is evident from the case that the privately run medical grossly lacks financial transparency. Giving a bill for a lesser amount than it collected indicates that the nursing home is into the business of tax hoarding which is an offence on the face of Indian laws.

So, instead of dealing with it just as a case of assault, Police must also investigate into the financial irregularities of the clinic run by Dr Patra. Such practice by Dr Patra since last three years must have caused huge revenue loss of the government.

However, a counter FIR has also been submitted by Dr Patra alleging that the media persons misbehaved his wife.

Not a lone case

This is not the lone case of physical assault on journalist in Odisha. Cases of Journalists being attacked by evil forces in the state are increasing day by day. Even after repeated appeals by media persons and media rights organisations, the state government is yet to take the safety issues of journalists seriously. The callousness from the government drives Odisha to become a hell for journalists and a place of difficulties for the profession of journalism.