NEW DELHI, July 14 (IANS): A group of students have slammed "unethical journalism" after some television channels showed the entire footage of a young woman being publicly stripped in Guwahati in Assam.
In an open letter to Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, they said that while the video did help identify the seven of the 20 criminals, the video footage should have never gone viral.
"If tomorrow we get raped, will we be filmed and flashed on TV? We would like to know what steps have been taken to ban unethical journalism?" they asked.
The signatories to the letter included students Priyanjana Das, Kasturi Ratan Verma, Shruti Sarma Hazarika and Kaustuv Prakash Pathak.
"Did the media who filmed the video call the police? Did the spectators around just stand and merely enjoy the show? And if they called for police, where was the police?
"GS Road is the busiest road in Guwahati. We would like to know how much time are we away from safety calls?"
They also asked why the Assam government was silent despite the nationwide rage? "We would also like to know if the carelessness of the media has been addressed to by the government?"
The open letter said that the rate of crime against women was a shocking 36.9 per lakh, almost double the national average at 18.9.
On Monday night, 11 young men, who police say have all been identified, pounced on a teenage girl as she stepped out a bar and stripped her before a television camera crew.
