On 11 August 2020, three journalists working with The Caravan—Shahid Tantray, Prabhjit Singh and a woman journalist—were beaten, subjected to communal slurs, threatened with murder, and sexually harassed, while reporting in Subhash Mohalla, in northeast Delhi.
The Network of Women in Media, a national collective for women in the media, released a statement condemning the attack and demanded immediate action. The statement is reproduced below. Read The Caravan’s report on the attack here.
The Network of Women in Media, India, condemns the attack on three journalists—Shahid Tantray, Prabhjit Singh, and a woman journalist (identity withheld) of The Caravan magazine. The physical attack on all the three journalists and the sexual harassment of the woman journalist, while reporting, are serious assaults and represent a setback to press freedom. This incident is a chilling indicator of the grave risks to on-ground reporting that journalists in India have been facing, even in the national capital.
On August 11, the three reporters were in Subhash Mohalla of northeast Delhi to carry out a valuable follow up reportage five months after the communal violence in Delhi in February. In an attempt to stop the three reporters from reporting, a mob assaulted them, threatened to kill them, and used communal slurs. According to reports ascertained by The Caravan, a prominent member of the mob was an office-bearer of the ruling party, BJP. The mob also tried to force the team members to reveal their sources and also delete their video footage and photographs taken while reporting.
COMMENT