Guwahati
journalists from Mizoram accused the Assam administration of high-handedness and use of excessive force. On March 10, videos of the violence started doing the rounds. They featured Emmy C Lawbi, a journalist with the Guwahati-based news channel, News18 Assam-North East, with injuries on her back and neck.
It must be noted here that journalist Emmy C Lawbei was brutally beaten up by Assam police on Saturday while out on an assignment to cover the protest by students on the Assam-Mizoram border.
Lawbei sustained grievous injuries on her shoulder and back. She was immediately rushed to Bairabi Hospital for primary treatment.
Lawbei shared her ordeal in a Facebook post. “I was travelling from Aizawl at 6 am along with other reporters. All the journalists were ahead of the students. There was some verbal exchange followed by lathi charge. Police started chasing us, beating everyone on the way,” she posted.
In her post, Lawbei said that police kept beating them even after they told them that they were journalists and not protesters. “I screamed and said I’m a journalist but they keep beating us. I felt a sharp pain on my butt, back and my arms,” she said.
Lawbei said that police have zero respect for the journalists, they were fully aware that who we were yet they assaulted us. Lawbei called it a “horrible experience” but she hopes that “something positive would come out of the situation”.
