Pune: Police officer who assaulted, threatened Loksatta reporter transferred

The reporter was covering a hunger strike at a tribal students’ hostel in Manjari when he was manhandled by cops and forcefully taken to police station. (Photo for representation purpose)

A senior officer of the Pune Police, Nilesh More, who manhandled and threatened a reporter of the Loksatta newspaper Saturday evening, was Monday transferred from Wanavdi police division to the Special Branch.

The transfer orders came hours after a delegation of journalists met police commissioner Rashmi Shukla and demanded that More, an Assistant Commissioner of Police apologise for his conduct. The journalists had sought his transfer. Sources said the transfer of More was “directly linked” to the attack on the reporter, even though the report of an internal inquiry into Saturday’s incident, set up by Shukla the next day, was still awaited.

Dnyanesh Bhukele, a 24-year-old reporter with Marathi daily Loksatta, which is part of The Indian Express Group, was covering a hunger strike at a tribal students’ hostel in Manjari in Pune on Saturday, when he was manhandled by cops and forcefully taken to police station by More. In a statement to the police later, Bhukele said his cellphone was snatched and audio-recording of a conversation he had with a government officer at the students’ hostel was forcefully deleted by the police. He said More made him write an “apology letter” and threatened to “destroy” his career.

More had refuted the charges and said the reporter was not beaten up or threatened. The action against the erring officer came on a day the issue was raised in the legislative council, which is meeting for its winter session in Nagpur. Demanding an immediate inquiry into the incident, Shiv Sena legislator Neelam Gorhe sought “strictest possible action” against the officer. Gorhe received immediate support from Leader of Opposition in the House Dhananjay Mundhe.

“The reporter was covering an agitation by students as part of an assignment, when the incident took place. In spite of the reporter showing his identity card, the officer kept questioning him. He was forced to get into a police van, beaten up and was treated like a criminal. He was threatened that an offence will be registered against him. ACP then made the reporter write an apology letter under duress,” Gorhe said.

Ramraje Nimbalkar, chairman of the legislative council, directed the government to take appropriate action in the case.