A photographer from a Marathi daily was "beaten" up by a State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) constable on Friday while covering a rally at Azad Maidan. Arun Patil, who works with Prahaar, has lodged a complaint with the local police against the SRPF constable.
According to the Bombay News Photographers Association (BNPA), on Friday afternoon, Patil was outside the Azad Maidan grounds covering a protest when the SRPF constable, identified as Sharad Jadhav, beat him with his lathi. When Patil approached the Azad Maidan police, they failed to register an FIR and instead registered a non-cognisable complaint.
The BNPA has written to Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik urging them to ensure that an FIR is immediately registered and appropriate action is taken against Jadhav.