Press associations𝓰 have condemned the arrest of Times Now journalist Bhawana Kisꦕhore by the Punjab Police and termed it as “blatant attack” on press freedom.
The police arrested Kishore, her colleague Mrityunjay Kumar and another man Parminder Sinﷺgh in Ludhiana for allegedly kn๊ocking down a woman with their speeding car and verbally abusing her
Press associations𝓰 have condemned the arrest of Times Now journalist Bhawana Kisꦕhore by the Punjab Police and termed it as “blatant attack” on press freedom.
According to a repor♕t by Indian Express, the police arrested Kishore, her colleague Mrityunjay Kumar and anothe✨r man Parminder Singh in Ludhiana for allegedly knocking down a woman with their speeding car and verbally abusing her.
The report further said that the incident happened when the woman was on her way to attend the inauguration of an Aam Aadm😼i Clinic (Mohalla clinic) in Ludhiana wh💫ich was being attended by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. The same inaugural programme was being covered by journalist Kishore.
In her complaint, the woman from Ghatti Valmiki said that a speeding vehicle hit her from behind as soon as she alighted from an e-rickshaw along with two other women and was walking to🧸wards the inaugural venue, the report𓄧 said.
Meanwhile, press associations said that no female officer was present at the spot. "The Editors Guild of India is concerned about the attitude of the law enforcement agencies towards journalists that has been on display through several incidents noted and decried. The latest seems to be t๊he detention of a Times Now reporter where established norms were not followed by the Punjab Police,” the Editors Guild said in a statement on Saturday.
“Times Now has claimed that even though she was not driving the car, she was detained by the Punjab Police and taken away in a car by a male cop,” t𝕴he association furt🌼her said.
The Indian Women's Press Corps too demanded "strict action aga๊inst the erring police personnel and want immediate relief for the journalists."
Meanwhile, the Indian Express report also said that the concerned TV channel authorities have opposed the arrests alleging that their reporter was implicated in a false case in Punjab, where AAP is in power, to muzzle the media’s voice. The channel had recently covered the alleged extravagant expenditure on Kejriwal’s home which sparked a debate, the r⛎eport said.