Delhi Police detained journalists from multiple news outlets, including The Scroll, Newslaundry, The Quint, Navbharat Times, Reuters, and Reporter TV while they were covering a protest in Delhi demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
On Saturday, Delhi Police detained several journalists from different news outlets while they were covering a protest organized by the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign and student groups affiliated with the Left parties. The protest was held at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission and its handling of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls. Ayush Tiwari from The Scroll was detained near ITO despite prominently displaying his press card.
Shoaib Daniyal, the political editor of The Scroll, was detained by the police near CR Park while waiting for a taxi.
Divya Aslesha from The Scroll was detained in Pune. Journalists from Newslaundry, The Quint, Navbharat Times, Reuters, and Reporter TV were also detained.
Tiwari told the police several times that he was a journalist, but he was put into a van and taken away. 'What’s my offence? Why are you detaining me?' Tiwari questioned. When asked by the police why he was not at the Jantar Mantar protest site, Tiwari responded, 'I have been covering this issue for months, I am here to cover it today.'
Two journalists with Navbharat Times, Hritik Joshi and Rahul Charas, were also detained while they were reporting. The Quint's journalist Sarthak Jaiswal was detained and taken to Chankyapuri Police Station earlier in the day.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has called on Delhi Police to immediately release all detained journalists and media professionals, return their equipment, investigate reports of physical abuse, and allow the press to cover demonstrations without interference.
Source:
Scroll.in
