NEW DELHI, August 25 — The Press Club of India has condemned the detention of two Lallantop journalists by Delhi Police while covering a protest at Ramlila Maidan on August 24, with the journalists later released after intervention by senior officials.
According to details received by The Chenab Times, reporter Rajat Pandey and cameraman Rashid Ali Kazmi were stopped from filming a protest by Staff Selection Commission (SSC) candidates and teachers. The police detained them, confiscated their camera, microphone, mobile phones, and press cards, and placed them in a bus with arrested protesters heading to a police station. “The reporter and cameraperson were manhandled and forcibly picked up by the police personnel at the protest site even when they repeatedly told them that they were media persons,” stated a press release from the Press Club of India.
The detention escalated when an IPS officer expressed suspicion about Kazmi, ordering him to be questioned after checking his ID. When Lallantop officials contacted a policeman who answered Pandey’s phone, they confirmed the detention. Following calls to senior police officials, the bus was stopped midway, and both journalists were released. DCP Central Nidhin Valson described the incident as a misunderstanding, stating the journalists were mistakenly detained with protesting students, as reported by Lallantop.
Pandey told Lallantop, “During our custody, we kept telling the Delhi Police that we were journalists. The police also knew very well that we were journalists. That is why the police confiscated our press cards, mic, and camera.” Kazmi added, “The police asked us for our ID card, we showed it. After looking at the ID card, they said there was doubt and it would be investigated. Then they pushed me into the bus.”
The protest at Ramlila Maidan involved thousands demanding accountability for alleged irregularities in the SSC Selection Post Phase 13 recruitment and stenographer examination. The Chenab Times learned that the Press Club of India has called on working journalists and fraternal organizations to protest the police action, though no further official statements have been issued as of this report.
The Chenab Times News Desk