A day after, in deadly Naxal attack two CRFP jawans attained martyrdom and one Doordarshan journalist lost his life in Aranpur in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada during election coverage, an emotional video clip of the colleague of deceased DD journalist has emerged. Mor Mukut, DD Assistant cameraman, narrated the entire incident and also recorded a message for her mother from the ground zero. In the video recorded by Mor Mukut Sharma when the firing went on, he narrated his ordeal and presumed it to be his last message due to the Naxal ambush. Mor Mukut expressing eternal love for his mother said, “Terror attack has happened (10 gunshots heard in background). We are in Dantewada for election coverage. We were passing through this area (more gunshots heard in background). Army… (gunshots heard in background). Army… (Continuous firing). Army was with us. Suddenly they surrounded us. Maoists (sporadic gunfire). Mummy if I escape alive… (3 gunfire rounds). It will be my luck. Mummy, I love you a lot (continuous firing). I may be killed in this attack. The situation is not right (continuous gunshots). I don’t know why but seeing death before me, I don’t feel scared. It is difficult to survive here (jawans heard screaming). There are 6-7 jawans with us. They (maoists) have surrounded us from all sides. Even then I will say this.”
He thought these were his last moments. But he survived….. #DDNews video journalist Mor Mukut Sharma shared his heart-wrenching ordeal as the dastardly #naxal attack in #Dantewada was underway.
A salute to his bravery and courage even in the face of death pic.twitter.com/6LvaFnugn9— DD News (@DDNewslive) October 31, 2018
The heart-wrenching message recorded amidst the constant gunfire is a reminder of the fact that Naxals are nothing but terrorists or even worse. The doers of this gruesome act can’t be compared to the rosy picture of Naxals which Naxal sympathizers sitting in their AC studio rooms paint and dream about. In the face of death, Mor Mukut has shown remarkable courage and exposed the gruesome face of Naxalites which mainstream media seldom tries to expose.
Those who support these Naxals and their coteries in Urban Naxals and love to identify themselves with these deadly monsters using hashtags such as #metooUrbannaxal are directly or indirectly supporting these monsters. The onus for the gruesome killing of innocent journalist along with two security personnel lies on them as well. It is really disturbing to see that followers of a discredited German philosopher are killing their own countrymen for an irrational and impractical idea that can never turn in to reality. The only way to end this is either mainstreaming them or thinking of an all-out elimination of both Naxals and its sympathizers. If Naxals and their sympathizers maintain this sort of callousness about the lives of others then they must be wary about their lives at least as the crackdown can be possible anytime soon. Those sitting in their AC rooms and trend #metooUrbanNaxal should also face the heat. These cheerleaders have strong faith that they know more about Naxalism than security agencies do or the victims of Naxal attacks do and this ‘know-all’ bluff has to be called out.
Editors Guild of India issued a statement on Dantewada Naxal attack. In their statement, the name of the deceased journalist, Achyutananda Sahu was missing and there were no words of condemnation as far as the action of Maoists is concerned.
In my humble opinion there are two omissions in this statement:
1. Name of the cameraman. His name was Achyutanand Sahu.
2. Condemnation of Maoists for killing a journalist.— Akhilesh Sharma (@akhileshsharma1) October 30, 2018
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has expressed grief over the gruesome incident which claimed three innocent lives. He also said that the family of the deceased journalist will be taken care of by the government. Times quoted him saying, “We stand in solidarity with family of the cameraman, we will take care of his family. We salute all those media-persons who go for coverage in such dangerous situations. We remember their bravery.”
