Journalists from a large number of media organisations gathered at the Press Club of India here on Tuesday (October 13, 2026) condemning the police crackdown on media professionals during the protest by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) during the weekend of October 10 to 11. Several journalists provided first-person accounts of assault and detention at the hands of the Delhi Police and demanded safety of their livelihood.
No police statement
Among the journalists who narrated a first-person account on the occasion were reporters from the BBC , Newslaundry , The Quint , Caravan , and The Wire . Barooah Pisharoty. Siddharth Varadarajan of The Wire equated the crackdown with experiences of media professionals in Kashmir and Gujarat. “This is about our right to livelihood and to be able to earn a living. Every time such a crackdown takes place it turns into an attack on our livelihood. The fact that there was no internet also amounts to the government saying that ‘don’t publish your paper’. Haidar. Sardesai. Veteran journalist and investigative reporter Paranjoy Guha Thakurta pointed out that despite widespread incidents of detention and assaults of journalists, photographers and video professionals, the Delhi Police is yet to come out with a statement. Thakurta.
Jain who also called on the Press Club of India to initiate a dialogue with the Delhi Police so that the police system learns to appreciate the fact that media professionals have a responsibility to report on political developments that include public protests.
Narrating his experience of getting detained by the Delhi Police, Sarthak of The Quint recounted how he was treated in an aggressive manner by the police and stated that “the State wants to decide who will document its actions”. Press Club of India president Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty said the incidents of attacks by the police and security personnel on media professionals showed that the “right to work”, which is a constitutional right is under attack. “A journalist’s role in a democracy is vital as journalism is a public good and the attack on journalists is a violation of that constitutional right and that is why we organised the press conference,” said Ms. Describing the incidents as “unprecedented”, several senior journalists narrated the manner in which the protesters were assaulted and detained by the police. Sreenivasan Jain described the crackdown on the media as a “very concerning escalation”. “The attempt is to particularly target younger journalists, digital media and be less tough towards the legacy media and of course the media that is seen as favourable to the government,” said Mr. The Hindu ’s Suhasini Haidar urged for media unity and said Press Club of India “must ensure” that young media professionals feel that they are being supported by the media community. This crackdown is about each one of us,” said Ms. Veteran journalist Rajdeep Sardesai said the crackdown on the media by the Delhi Police and security agencies have created a “Delhi model” of crackdown that is being extended to the rest of the country. “The instruction is very clear that the media has to be treated as an enemy and a suspect,” said Mr. “Three days have passed and the Delhi Police has not issued a statement,” said Mr.
