Journalist associations across the country have condemned the attack on journalists, teachers and students inside the North Campus of the Delhi University on Wednesday.
"We are also surprised and anguished at the police inaction in controlling hooliganism in which activists of the ABVP, a student body, allegedly indulged in," said a statement released by the Press Club of India.
"Going through all accounts appearing in the media on Thursday, it is abundantly clear that journalists covering a march by students and teachers were assaulted by the protesters, as well as several policemen, who snatched their mobile phones, deleted pictures and videos and beat them while they were performing their professional duties. Several reporters, including Heena Kausar and Ananya Bhardwaj of the Hindustan Times and Somreet Bhattacharya of The Times of India, Taruni Kumar of The Quint, camerapersons Shiv Kumar Maurya, Mazhar Khan and Anand Sharma were also beaten up," the statement said.
The Delhi Union of Journalists also expressed its anger and anguish at the attacks on journalists, teachers and students on the Delhi University campus. There were several assaults on journalists, who had come to the campus to cover the disturbances, by protesters as well as police personnel who were not wearing nametags.
Cell phones were snatched, cameras grabbed and photographic evidence of the violence was destroyed by the unidentified police personnel.
"Such assaults only go on to demonstrate that it was a brutal attempt by the police to suppress the press, muzzle it and instil a sense of fear in it, if it reported disturbances and violence in which ABVP activists indulged. It was only a year ago that reporters and photographers were beaten up by lawyers at the Patiala House Court and we regret to say that the law has failed to catch up with them," the Union said.