Scribes stage protest march against GDA officials

ENRAGED OVER the assault on journalists, the newly elected office-bearers of Gorakhpur Press Club convened an emergency meeting at the Press Club and stressed the need to unitedly oppose the humiliation of journalists by Gorakhpur Development Authority officials.

ENRAGED OVER the assault on journalists, the newly elected office-bearers of Gorakhpur Press Club convened an emergency meeting at the Press Club and stressed the need to unitedly oppose the humiliation of journalists by Gorakhpur Development Authority officials.

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They took out a protest march and handed over a seven-point memorandum to Divisional Commissioner Dr Moolchand Yadav, demanding the suspension of the erring officials.

Meanwhile, the district administration has arrested four GDA officials, including an executive engineer and lodged cases against them under Sections 147, 148, 323, 342, 336 and 307 on the written complaints of the journalists. The journalists who blocked the national highway, removed the blockade after the arrest of the officials late at night.

On Thursday, the scribes organised a meeting at the Press Club. Expressing his views on this occasion, president of the Press Club Shafi Azmi said a number of journalists had reached the GDA to inquire about the demolition drive but the GDA officials bashed up the journalists and threatened to kill them, brandishing weapons. He said when the journalists staged a dharna at the GDA gate in support of their demands for lodging FIR against the GDA officials, the GDA employees started pelting stones on them and senior journalists Gopalji, Vivek Pandey and Mahendra Gaur sustained serious injuries. They were admitted to the district hospital and later shifted to a private nursing home.