Journalists Threatened By Cleric For Reporting 'Tablighi Jamaat' Incident; NBA Hits Out

Anchors and reporters working in news channels are being specifically targeted through social media platforms like WhatsApp, TikTok and Twitter, NBA said in the statement.

New Delhi: Journalists of electronic media, including anchors and reporters were threatened for reporting the Tablighi Jamaat congregation which acted as a super spreader of coronavirus in Delhi and other parts of the country, by a cleric named Maulana Ali Qadri on social media. The News Broadcasters Association, taking notice of the act, strongly denounced it in a  statement. While speaking to ABP News, Maulana Qadri apologized for his hateful statements, however he later walked out of the show, when confronted with questions. Watch: News Broadcasters Association (NBA) said in a statement that it views with grave concern the tendency among people belonging to a certain section of society resorting to abuses and threats against anchors and reporters working in news channels. This particular trend has been noticed after electronic media recently exposed the role of Tablighi Jamaat in the spread of Coronavirus, resulting in a nationwide spurt in number of positive cases and subsequent deaths, the body said. Anchors and reporters working in news channels are being specifically targeted through social media platforms like WhatsApp, TikTok and Twitter, it said in the statement. There are videos circulating on social media in which some religious preachers are naming some TV news anchors and threatening attacks on the reporters of those channels. NBA said it strongly deplores this pernicious trend in a section of society and appeals to the government and law enforcing agencies to take immediate preventive action against such anti-social elements.