India: PTI photographer beaten in UP, cops initially refuse to act

New Delhi, Dec 7 (PTI) A PTI photographer and his fiancee were beaten up Monday in Uttar Pradesh's Muradnagar by unidentified men who picked up a fight with him while he was travelling to Delhi on his motorcycle.

Police at the Muradnagar post refused to register photographer Ravi Choudhary's complaint against the men, who were in a Bolero jeep that had Bharat Sarkar (Government of India) written on it.

However, officers later assured him that action will be taken in the case.

Choudhary's photograph of a policeman hitting a protesting farmer with a lathi recently got widespread attention.

The incident took place on a congested stretch of the Ganga Canal Road, Choudhary said.

The Bolero's driver stopped Choudhary from riding past his vehicle and hurled abuses at him and his fiance. When Choudhary objected to this, the driver opened his vehicle's door wide to stop him from moving ahead.

Three or four men then got out of the vehicle and started thrashing them, the PTI journalist said. A couple of others remained inside the car.

Choudhary said he and his fiance were briefly chased by the Bolero when they managed to ride away from the spot.

The two then stopped at the Muradnagar police post in Ghaziabad police station area, seeking to register a complaint.

But the police personnel there refused to do so, insisting that the incident did not take place in the area under their jurisdiction.

Choudhary had taken a picture of the vehicle in which the men were travelling, and later tweeted it.

After his tweet, a senior police officer and the Muradnagar SHO called him, asking him to file his complaint and assuring action in the case.