The Delhi Police has registered two FIRs based on complaints by journalists who alleged they were assaulted during the Hindu mahapanchayat held on Sunday at Burari ground, where Dasna Devi temple priest Yati Narsinghanand spoke. In one case, police have filed an FIR against unidentified persons, based on the complaint of two journalists — a man and a woman — who work for an online portal, under sections of molestation, causing hurt and attempted snatching. @mdmeharban03 @meerfaisal01 @MeghnadBose93 and I had gone to cover the Hindu Mahapanchayat at Burari Ground in Delhi today. The event was called by Save India Foundation. Yati Narsinghanand, Pinky Choudhary, Sushil Tiwari, Suresh Chahvanke and Preet Singh were there. 1/n pic.twitter.com/z9bf9eIlUJ — Arbab Ali (@arbabali_jmi) April 3, 2022 In their complaint, they stated that Preet Singh, the event organiser, singled out the woman journalist from the stage for her report on his organisation Save India Foundation’s event at Jantar Mantar last year. The two stated that they were “manhandled and assaulted” by 15-20 men when trying to report on the other journalists being taken away in a police vehicle. “I was pulled back and groped by unknown men who tried to snatch my mobile,” reads the FIR. Another group of journalists, meanwhile, alleged they were assaulted by those attending the mahapanchayat while they were trying to record interviews with them. The second FIR has been filed based on their complaint. Arbab Ali, a journalist reporting for Article 14, and Meer Faisal, a 21-year-old correspondent with The Hindustan Gazette, filed complaints with the police at Mukherjee Nagar police station on Sunday evening where they were taken in a police van after the alleged assault. “We were standing at the back and interviewing people in the crowd. A few men came and started harassing us. they asked for our press IDs and Aadhaar cards. When they saw that I am from Jamia Nagar, they called me ‘Jihadi’. After some time, Preet Singh made statements against a specific journalist from the stage and issued warnings about speaking to the media. People soon got agitated and started ganging up on us. The mob was pushing and manhandling Meer and me. They snatched our phones and deleted all videos. I received injuries on my back and my hand,” Arbab alleged. Meer also claims that he was “hit from behind, on my back and sides. My assault happened in front of the police but they couldn’t do much”. Reacting to allegations that some journalists were detained, police said they had taken the journalists to Mukherjee Nagar police station to protect them. “Some of the reporters, willingly, on their own free will, to evade the restless crowd which was getting agitated by their presence, sat in a PCR van stationed at the venue and opted to proceed to the police station for security reasons. Nobody was detained. Due police protection was provided,” said DCP (Northwest) Usha Rangnani.
