Lawfare, Detention: Journalists

Delhi Police detained three Indian Express Hindi journalists at Connaught Place on Sunday while they were reporting the developments of the second day of protests called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). Journalists Shashwat, Siya and Vijay Kumar, displayed their valid press cards, but were taken into detention and forced into buses by police personnel.

They were later released at Chhatrasal Stadium after around 45 minutes and nearly 12 kilometres away. The latest protests are against alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The police did not cite any specific legal provision or reason for detaining the journalists. The incident comes amid a wider crackdown on protesters in the national capital, where police detained around 7,000 people on October 10, including journalists, lawyers and civil society members.