A group of journalists covering the illegal settlement of Rohingyas and Bangladeshi migrants near the Sunjuwan military camp were today attacked by illegal settlers and some local residents in the outskirts of the city.

An FIR in this regard has been registered at the Trikuta Nagar police station and two persons — Mohammad Ashraf and Sher Mohammad — have been arrested.

Mediapersons belonging to two national channels and an RTI activist had gone to an illegal colony in the Narwal area for a story when they were thrashed. The camp is close to Sunjawan military installation, which was recently attacked by terrorists. “We were talking to some people about how Rohingyas managed to get SIM cards and registration certificates for running shops when some persons attacked us,” said Rohit Choudhary, an RTI activist. The video of the attack has gone viral on social media. He inflicted several blows on the head of a journalist. Talking to media, Vivek Gupta, SSP, Jammu, said they had detained two local youths after an FIR was lodged by journalists. “So far, we have detained two local youths. They are not Rohingyas,” Gupta said. Security agencies had been warning of possible influx of radical elements in Jammu from Myanmar, but no action has been taken to stop their illegal settlement.

Deputy CM Nirmal Singh also condemned the attack on journalists. “Had a word with police to take strict against the miscreants involved under the law of land,” tweeted the Deputy CM.

Meanwhile, the Press Club of Jammu condemned the attack. Zorawar Singh Jamwal, secretary general of the club, demanded strict action against the miscreants. “This is not the first case. Earlier also, there have been cases of assault on journalists on duty and it is a direct attack on the fourth pillar of our democracy,” he added.

The BJP high command has called state party chief Sat Sharma and general secretary Ashok Koul to Delhi to discuss the developments in the state following Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s decision to sack Haseeb Drabu from the Council of Ministers. Both Sharma and Koul left for Delhi this afternoon to meet senior leaders.

Sources said the duo would meet BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav, who along with Drabu, had set the agenda for the PDP-BJP coalition government in J&K. “Ram Madhav reached Delhi on Monday evening. Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh is already there so the party top leadership would discuss the situation emerging after the sacking of Drabu from the ministry,” a source said, adding, “the Drabu episode has landed the BJP in an embarrassing situation because the PDP has sacked him on a very sensitive issue.”

The sources further said the issue would dominate the meeting with central leaders but other matters, such as controversial decisions taken during a review meeting of the Tribal Affairs Ministry and Kathua incident, are also likely to be discussed. The BJP leadership has a reason to worry as Drabu was removed on remarks which have acceptability in Jammu province and other parts of the country.

On the other hand, the BJP came out openly in Drabu’s support for highlighting the “hard reality” of the Kashmir problem. BJP general secretary Narendra Singh supported Drabu’s statement that Kashmir was not only a political issue but social also. “Every problem has a social cause. Society too has a role to give right directions to the younger generation,” he said, adding that Drabu had highlighted "social angle" of the Kashmir problem.