Anti-CEC protests: Police assaulting media professionals amounts to attack on their livelihood, say senior journalists

On Tuesday, October 13, 2026, a group of journalists from various media organizations met at the Press Club of India to protest against the police's aggressive actions during a protest by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on October 10-11. Journalists from BBC, Newslaundry, The Quint, Caravan, and The Wire shared their personal experiences of being assaulted and detained by the Delhi Police during the protest.

Sarthak of The Quint recounted being treated aggressively by the police and said, "The State wants to decide who will document its actions."

Press Club of India president Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty highlighted that the attacks on media professionals are a violation of their constitutional right to work, stating that journalism is a public good. Several senior journalists described the crackdown on the media as unprecedented, with Sreenivasan Jain calling it a "very concerning escalation." Jain also urged the Press Club of India to initiate a dialogue with the Delhi Police to ensure that media professionals are treated with respect.

Siddharth Varadarajan of The Wire compared the crackdown to experiences in Kashmir and Gujarat, while The Hindu's Suhasini Haidar called for media unity and emphasized the importance of journalists' livelihood. Veteran journalist Rajdeep Sardesai warned that the Delhi Police's actions have set a "Delhi model" precedent that could be extended to the rest of the country, characterized by treating the media as an enemy and suspect.

Paranjoy Guha Thakurta noted that despite numerous incidents of journalist detentions and assaults, the Delhi Police has yet to issue an official statement, emphasizing that the police should not take away journalists' livelihoods. After the press conference, journalists held a symbolic march around the Press Club of India, with Barooah Pisharoty calling for journalists to reclaim the streets.