Mr. Lalit Jha, an Indian journalist in Washington was physically attacked and verbally abused by Khalistan supporters in Washington while he was covering a pro-Khalistan protest outside the Indian Embassy on Saturday afternoon. The Indian embassy in the US has condemned the incident.
Mr Jha on Sunday thanked US Secret Service for protecting him, and helping him do his job. He said he was hit on his left ear with two sticks by the Khalistan supporters. He also shared a video of the Khalistan supporters on his Twitter handle.
In his tweet Lalit Jha wrote, “Thank you @SecretService 4 my protection 2day 4 helping do my job, otherwise I would have been writing this from hospital. The gentleman below hit my left ear with these 2 sticks & earlier I had to call 9/11 & rushed 2 police van 4 safety fearing physical assault.”
Regardless, the journalist has decided not to take any action against the abusers.
Mr Jha told ANI, “The pro-Khalistan protesters in support of Amritpal (Singh) waved Khalistan flags and descended upon the embassy in the presence of the US Secret Service. They even openly threatened to vandalize the embassy and threatened the Indian Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu,”
Condemning the incident, the Indian embassy said in a statement, “We condemn such a grave and unwarranted attack on a senior journalist. Such activities only underscore the violent and anti-social tendencies of the so-called ‘Khalistani protestors’ and their supporters, who routinely engage in wanton violence and vandalism.”
“We have seen disturbing visuals of a senior Indian journalist from the Press Trust of India being abused, threatened & assaulted physically while covering so-called ‘Khalistan protest’ in Washington DC earlier today,” the Indian embassy said.
The Indian embassy also thanked the law enforcement agencies for their prompt response in the matter.
Earlier on March 20, the Indian Consulate in The States was also attacked against which the US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Twitter that the US condemns the acts of violence against the Indian Consulate in San Francisco. He further said that the US is committed to the safety and security of Indian diplomats.
Shreya Bansal is a student of Journalism. She is an enthusiastic creative and content writer. Shreya is currently working at The Shining Media as a journalist and can be contacted at shreyabansal@theshiningmedia.in
