Delhi police detain journalists covering CJP protest despite press credentials

Delhi Police bundled working reporters into buses and seized cameras and phones on Saturday during a massive security clampdown against youth demonstrations in the capital, ignoring press passes displayed around their necks.

Reporters from The Quint, The Wire, Scroll, Reporter TV, Navbharat Times, and Newslaundry, as well as senior journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, were among those picked up across central and south Delhi as security forces moved to break up protests called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). The group had organised the march to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral irregularities.

Four leading media organisations — the Press Club of India, the Indian Women's Press Corps, the Delhi Union of Journalists, and the Kerala Union of Working Journalists — issued a joint statement demanding a public apology from Delhi Police and the return of seized equipment.

"Preventing journalists from doing their job, detaining them without reason, and creating a fortress-like situation in the capital with 22,000 police and paramilitary, closed metro stations and unprecedented internet shutdowns, to stop peaceful questioning of institutions is reminiscent of a fascist state," the groups said.

How reporters were picked up

Around 11 am near Minto Bridge, two Navbharat Times journalists, Ritik Joshi and Rahul Charas, were filming officers detaining demonstrators who had arrived from New Delhi railway station. Both were wearing white shirts to make their red press accreditation tags obvious.

When a police officer grabbed Charas by the arm, both pointed to their identity cards. An officer told them to either come quietly or go home, before forcing Charas into a bus. Joshi was instructed to enter without making a fuss. The two were driven across town to Maurice Nagar police station in north Delhi, where protesters kicked open bus windows to escape, after which the journalists were allowed to leave.

Other detentions took place across the city. Scroll's political editor, Shoaib Daniyal, was detained near CR Park in south Delhi, while reporter Ayush Tiwari was picked up in central Delhi. Near Mandi House, Rapid Action Force personnel snatched a newspaper reporter’s phone, tore the accreditation pass off his neck, and forced him to delete recorded footage of officers resting before shoving him onto a detention bus. A Delhi Police officer later intervened and let him go after checking his card.

Reporters also faced intimidation from street mobs. Outside Palika Bazaar in Connaught Place, a group identifying themselves as Bajrang Dal members heckled reporters, accusing them of broadcasting false reports on behalf of the CJP.

Petitions challenge sweeping city clampdown

The detentions formed part of a sprawling lockdown that saw around 41,000 security personnel turn central Delhi into a barricaded zone. Police refused permission for the gathering at Jantar Mantar and detained an estimated 7,000 people, including CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and four former chief ministers.

Police actions across the capital are now facing legal scrutiny, with four petitions filed challenging the mass detentions, the closure of metro stations, and the security restrictions. The CJP has vowed to continue its demonstrations at Jantar Mantar.