Biratnagar, April 12:

The Morang chapter of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists today took out a rally and staged a sit-in outside the district administration office for one-and-a-half-hours to protest the beating up of media persons, including THT and AP correspondent Manoj Shrestha, by security personnel yesterday.

The rally began from the premises of the FNJ building at College Road and passed through major thoroughfares of the city before ending up as a sit-in in front of the DAO. Participants chanted slogans demanding press freedom and the right to freely cover any programme.

The journalists staged the sit-in outside the main gate of the DAO after security forces did not allow them enter the DAO premises. The sit-in terminated after Morang CDO Narendra Dahal assured the media persons of preventing such incidents in the future.

President of the Morang chapter of FNJ, Shiva Bahadur Karki said that FNJ would take legal action against security personnel involved in manhandling Shrestha.