Journos assaulted in N-E Delhi say will continue to report 'truth'

new delhi: Journalists from The Caravan magazine, who were physically assaulted by a mob on August 11 in Subhash Mohalla, in Northeast Delhi while reporting a story, have said that the incident will not stop them from doing their job and investigate the Delhi riots in February.

"It is our job to find out the truth and we will continue doing that. The whole idea behind the assault was to intimidate us, but that is not going to happen," one of the assaulted journalists, Shahid Tantray told Millennium Post. Tantray along with his colleagues Prabhjit Singh and a woman journalist was assaulted by a mob led by a "saffron-clad man" who claimed to be a "BJP general secretary". He also said that this issue concerns the entire media and not just a handful. The journalists also questioned why an FIR had not been registered in the matter.

The journalists were joined by senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, The Caravan's political editor Hartosh Singh Bal and author Arundhati Roy.

While Bhushan said police were obligated to file an FIR in the matter, he added that there was "a virtual collapse of the rule of law". "Lynch mobs roam around the street and beat up journalists and minorities," he said. The woman journalist, who wants to remain anonymous, sent out a message adding that even though the incident was traumatic, she would continue to report.

Meanwhile, The Editors Guild of India issued a statement on the "alleged attack" demanding police cognizance. However, Bal hit back on Twitter, "'three reporters of the caravan were allegedly assaulted...' says a statement by a body which allegedly may be the Editors Guild which is allegedly headed by a man allegedly named Shekhar Gupta."