CPJ urges Delhi Police to drop probe against The Caravan journalists

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published last year

NEW DELHI—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Monday demanded that Delhi Police halt its retaliatory investigation into three journalists from The Caravan magazine and instead pursue the perpetrators who assaulted them during the 2020 Delhi riots.

Shahid Tantray, Prabhjit Singh (pictured left), and an unnamed female colleague, who were attacked nearly four years ago, recently learned that police had also initiated an investigation against them for allegedly promoting communal enmity and outraging the modesty of a woman, as reported by The Caravan.

On August 11, 2020, a mob assaulted the journalists in northeast Delhi while they covered the Delhi riots, the capital's most severe communal violence in decades, resulting in over 50 deaths, mostly of Muslims. For approximately 90 minutes, the attackers physically assaulted the journalists, used communal slurs, made death threats, and sexually harassed the woman until police intervened, according to The Caravan. The journalists filed complaints the same day.

However, The Caravan discovered that the police had filed a First Information Report (FIR) against the journalists on August 14 based on a complaint from an unnamed woman. The police only registered the journalists' FIR an hour later, despite their complaints being filed three days earlier.

"The police have informed us that our FIR is considered a 'counter FIR,'" stated The Caravan, noting they were denied a certified copy of the FIR against their staff due to its "sensitive nature."

Kunal Majumder, CPJ's India representative, criticized the Delhi Police's actions, stating, "The police's actions against The Caravan journalists, based on a secret document not shared with them, are deeply troubling. This appears to be a clear retaliation against journalists who were victims of a violent mob. The opacity of the process is unacceptable."

Majumder called for an impartial investigation into the attack on the journalists rather than targeting them for their reporting on severe sectarian violence. He emphasized the importance of transparency and justice to uphold press freedom and democratic values in India.

The journalists only became aware of the case against them on June 3 when the police sent a notice to Singh's former residence, requesting his assistance in the investigation. The Caravan asserted, "The allegations in the FIR are absolutely false and fabricated," adding that the police had not followed up on the journalists' complaints.

Joy Tirkey, Deputy Commissioner of Police for Northeast Delhi, did not respond to CPJ’s request for comment.

Photos courtesy of Prabhjit Singh and Bilal Kuchay