Photojournalists covering the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) protest against the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal were assaulted at Patel Chowk by the Delhi police on Tuesday, March 26. Salman Ali, who works for Hindustan Times, got his left elbow fractured in the exchange, while a picture released by The Working News Cameraman’s Association showed a policeman grabbing India Today’s Arun Thakur by his neck.
Several photographs and video clips that went viral on social media showed officers threatening several others carrying cameras.
The Press Club of India issued a statement condemning the assault, demanding a high-level inquiry by a retired judge. It also called for the suspension with immediate effect of the police personnel involved. “It is the job of reporters and photojournalists to cover political protests. As such, photojournalists who were assaulted by Delhi police were merely doing their job,” read the statement. It further underlined that freedom of press is a fundamental right, which the Supreme Court has emphasised on many occasions.
The journalists were covering the protest against the arrest of the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is under the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case.
The Delhi police also detained several AAP leaders including Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains and MLA Somnath Bharti for protesting outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence.