India: WPF Demands Inquiry into Police Detaining Poonam Pandey for Covering Delhi Protest
Journalist was clearly identified as press when police detained her
Location: India, Delhi
Date: July 29, 2024
Women Press Freedom denounces the arbitrary detention of journalist Poonam Pandey by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Delhi when she was covering a protest held by the women’s wing of a political party. While Pandey was subsequently released, her unjust detention is unacceptable and highly condemnable, as she was not only prevented from performing her duty on the ground but was also indiscriminately detained by law enforcers in the capital city. The journalist’s detention is an unlawful action that blatantly threatens press freedom and democratic rights in India. No journalist deserves punishment for their work and be silenced by force.
“Today, while covering the protest by Mahila Congress, the police detained me along with the protesters. Despite repeatedly telling them that I am from the media and despite showing my media ID card... The policemen were stopping me from making the video,” says Poonam Pandey, an assistant editor at the Navbharat Times. Pandey was held by the CRPF during a protest held by the women's wing of the Indian National Congress — a rival political party of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party — on Monday, July 29, 2024.
Following her release, the journalist — whose reporting beats include defense, BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) — shared that the police blocked her camera with a black cloth and also attempted to snatch her phone.
During the incident, there were no women police officers on the scene. However, women soldiers from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) forcibly confiscated her phone and placed her on a bus with other demonstrators. Despite Pandey asserting her rights as a journalist, her protests were ignored, and she was taken away along with the other detainees.
The Press Club of India has called for a judicial inquiry into the matter as a crucial step toward ensuring accountability: “We demand an independent judicial inquiry to determine whether security personnel have been instructed to target and intimate journalists covering events that might cause discomfort to those in power.”
This is one of the many instances of journalists being heckled or encountering impediments in India during the years-long rule of the right-wing BJP being government by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as documented by Women Press Freedom. Since starting reporting on press freedom violations in 2019, we have documented about 150 press freedom violations in the country. India has consistently joined the top 10 of countries with the highest violations, through unjust arrests and detentions, physical assault, and organized troll campaigns.
This year alone, women journalists in Modi’s India have been facing various kinds of threats. On the day of the polls in India, Women Press Freedom documented how Australian journalist Avani Dias had to leave India after Indian authorities said that her reporting on sensitive topics, including the killing of a Sikh separatist leader, “crossed a line.” Dias worked as the South Asia correspondent for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
Data of India’s press freedom violations 2019-2024. Click on the dropdown box to explore.
In February 2024, French journalist Vanessa Dougnac was threatened with deportation by the Indian government, which labeled her work “malicious and critical.” Dougnac, who had lived in India for 22 years, was denied a work visa by Indian authorities, which also revoked her Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card. After this, the journalist eventually left the country. That same month, British-Kashmiri writer Nitasha Kaul, a vocal critique of Modi, was denied entry to India after she arrived at the Bengaluru Airport to attend a conference in Karnataka.
Local journalists have been targeted by authorities through defamation charges or threatened against reporting about BJP politicians. Jashoda Desai, a local journalist from the state of Gujarat, was slapped with defamation after she questioned a BJP politician’s qualification on social media. Seasoned journalist Neha Purav was threatened for her reporting related to ministers of BJP, as polls continued in the country. Reporter Yesha Kotak — who worked for CNN News18 — was dragged away by a police constable in Mumbai while she was covering a campaign rally of Prime Minister Modi.
Women Press Freedom demands the Indian government investigate the unlawful detention of the journalist to ensure transparency and accountability at a time when journalists remain vulnerable to silencing tactics. While we are relieved that Pandey made it to her home safely, we demand that law enforcement in the Indian capital, Delhi, disclose the purpose behind detaining the journalist and why she faced aggressive interference on the job. In any democratic country, the role of the press is vital, but the abuse meted out to journalists is unacceptable. We urge the Indian government and its law enforcers to take immediate action against CRPF officials involved in detaining Pandey when she was doing her job. We also demand redressal for Pandey and protection against any such threat in the future.
Women Press Freedom is an initiative by The Coalition For Women In Journalism
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.
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