Scribe's Arrest: Media bodies condemn action

NEW DELHI: Media bodies have condemned police action against two journalists who were picked up during farmers’ protests at Singhu border for allegedly misbehaving with police personnel. A freelance journalist and another working with a news portal were detained on Saturday. While one of them was later released, the police arrested the other on Sunday.

The Indian Women’s Press Corps, Press Club of India and the Press Association demanded immediate release of the journalist. “Such crackdowns impinge on the media’s right to report freely and interfere with our right to freedom of expression, and freedom of the press as guaranteed by the Constitution of India,” the bodies said in a joint statement. A group of journalists on Sunday evening staged a protest outside police headquarters against the arrest. The protesters were carrying placards in their hands and raising slogans. They also held a small march near the area. Police had earlier said they placed barricades at the border following the violence on Friday to ensure that no one could get through.

Meanwhile, opposition parties Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal condemned the arrest. Reacting to the development, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi tweeted in Hindi: “Those who fear truth, arrest honest journalists.” “All healthy democracies encourage the media to report fearlessly. Many journalists did so during the ongoing ‘kisan andolan’ and brought out the truth behind various acts of repression. It is shocking that instead of ensuring justice in the case, the Delhi Police arrested (a) journalist...who covered the event and packed him off to jail,” SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia said in a statement.