Joint Press Statement– May 4, 2023
The Indian Women Press Corps and Press Club of India deplore the manner in which a woman journalist Sakshi Joshi was manhandled at Jantar Mantar in the early hours of May 4 morning. Joshi had gone to Jantar Mantar to cover the protests led by award winning wrestlers who have been sitting on a dharna since April 23. The wrestlers have been protesting against sexual harassment charges against the WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and have been demanding his arrest.
Sakshi Joshi was also witness to the reported scuffle between the wrestlers and Delhi Police at the Jantar Mantar protest site. One of the videos showed how Sakshi was first physically prevented by male policemen of the Delhi Police from talking to the wrestlers and then was subjected to by rough treatment by women police which resulted in her clothes getting torn.
She was detained and later let off in the early hours of May 4. She has sent a complaint to Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora demanding an inquiry against the erring police personnel and punishment.
The IWPC and PCI demand a probe into the matter and urge strict action against the erring police personnel for their treatment of a woman journalist on assignment.
Indian Women’s Press Corps and Press Club of India.
