IJU Condemns Police Brutality Against Two Journalists

Poonam Pandey (Left) and Mutum Rameshchandra (Right),

KalimNews, PR, New Imphal/Delhi, August 6, 2024: The Indian Journalists Union (IJU) has condemned recent police actions against two journalists, one in Manipur and another in the national capital, Delhi. Mutum Rameshchandra, a senior reporter with Impact TV News, was assaulted by a sub-inspector while covering a rally by internally displaced people (IDPs) on 1 August in the Imphal East district.

In Delhi, Poonam Pandey, assistant editor of the Hindi daily Navbharat Times, was stopped and detained by the police while covering a demonstration by Mahila Congress workers near Kartavya Path on 30 July. The IJU stated that both incidents are not only acts of harassment but also direct attacks on press freedom, and it called for action against the responsible police personnel.

Poonam Pandey reported that police prevented her from filming the protest by covering her camera with a black cloth and attempting to snatch her phone. She was subsequently detained and put into a bus with the protesters, despite identifying herself as a journalist and showing her press ID. Pandey noted that no female police officers were present during the incident, although female CRPF personnel were involved in forcibly taking her phone and placing her on the bus.

In Manipur, Mutum Rameshchandra said he was punched and kicked, sustaining injuries to his right chin. His phone was smashed, and he was also hit with a service weapon by the sub-inspector. The All Manipur Working Journalists Union (AMWJU), an affiliate of the IJU, and the Editors Guild of Manipur led a protest march from the Manipur Press Club to Chief Minister Biren Singh’s residence, demanding an impartial inquiry into the incident and action against the police officer involved.

In a statement, IJU President and former Press Council of India member, and IJU Secretary General and IFJ Vice President, Sabina Inderjit, condemned the incidents, stating that stopping and attacking journalists while they are carrying out their duties is becoming a rule rather than an exception. She asserted that the targeting of journalists reveals sinister designs by governments to deny citizens their right to be informed. The media community, she urged, must stand up against these assaults on the fourth pillar of democracy.