New Delhi: The Editors Guild of India has demanded “appropriate action” against those responsible for the attacks on journalists covering the Delhi violence over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
In a statement, the guild said journalists being attacked “is tantamount to a direct assault on press freedom”. It said the Ministry of Home Affairs should investigate the incidents, and urged the police to “take necessary steps to provide protection to journalists and prevent any such attack in the future”.
The guild’s statement came late Tuesday after several journalists said they were heckled and attacked by the rioters when they were trying to report from the ground.
Three NDTV journalists, Arvind Gunasekar, Saurabh Shukla and Mariyam Alavi, and cameraperson Sushil Rathee were among those attacked Tuesday, while journalist journalist Akash, who was reporting for JK 24×7 News, was shot at.
Expressing concern over the attacks, the guild statement said the guilty must be brought to book.
Read the full statement issued by the Editors Guild of India
The Editors Guild of India expresses serious concern over the manner in which journalists assigned to cover the violence in Delhi have been targeted for physical attack. There are reports of journalists being hospitalized after such attack.
The Guild notes that journalists being attacked is tantamount to direct assault on press freedom and those guilty of having indulged in such violence must be brought to book.
It urges the Delhi Police to take necessary steps to provide protection to journalists and prevent any such attack in the future. It also requests the Home Ministry, under which Delhi Police functions, to investigate these incidents and punish the guilty. The Home Ministry must also direct Delhi Police to take appropriate action.
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