Feminist/Writer/Journo. Former Polis Project, NewsClick, Outlook India, Asia Times
India
Joined May 2009
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Sad that the court has to remind politicians that India is a secular, democratic nation 🤯
#BREAKING: Bombay High Court slams BJP leaders for criticising a videoclip wherein Bollywood Actor Dia Mirza had appealed citizens to avoid bursting firecrackers on public streets as ordered by the High Court.
She was roped in to create awareness on the issue by the BMC, however, after the opposition by BJP leaders, the video was pulled down from the BMC's social media handle.
Bench of Justice Girish Kulkarni & Justice Dr Neela Gokhale said "they are disturbed by the stray comments made by some politicians" and reminded them that "India is a Secular country."
Judges have ordered the BMC to restore the deleted video
@mybmc @deespeak
#BMC #BombayHighCourt
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Update. 5 pm, Gate 1, Central Park, Connaught Place in Delhi. Teargas vehicle, Delhi Police, RAF, and protester with the tricolour.
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Strange things happen in the state of UP 🌚
#UPSIRFiles
30 consecutive serial numbers. All marked DEAD in a single booth in Mughalsarai, UP.
In Mughalsarai, Booth No. 53, serial numbers 1–30 are all marked “Dead” in the records analysed.
Even more striking: 22 out of 30 (73.3%) are aged just 20–39.
It's strange that so many young voters end up marked dead in a single booth.
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Since 2018, I have worked as a journalist. No security personnel has ever asked me for a PIB card on field. The police have been told to do this. To disregard media workers and harass them. The police never act on their own accord. They follow instructions that come from the top.
In 12 years of reporting in India, I was offered a PIB card multiple times but never needed one. I covered the 2019 CAA protests and reported and lived in Kashmir, never once asked for it by police or the army. This is unreal.
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Press freedom is a core component of a democratic nation. Unless democracy is not the genre the govt likes.
At least 16 journalists were brutally detained while covering public demonstrations in #India. In addition to the four journalists already mentioned, RSF has learned that Anushka Bhardwaj (#BusinessStandard), Hritik Joshi and Rahul Charas (@NavbharatTimes), Shoaib Daniyal (#Scroll), Anshu (@newslaundry ), Saurabh Sharma (@Reuters ), Jagriti Trisha (BOOM), Shivang Shukla (Mo), Neeraj Jha (@moliticsindia), and freelance journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta were also forcibly detained in #Delhi, along with Kinjal (@AltNews) in #Ahmedabad and Divya Aslesha (Scroll) in #Pune.
Covering events of public interest is not a crime. It is their job. The police's actions against the press are unacceptable.
Fantastic. Will the Supreme Court take sup moto cognizance of this attack on the fourth pillar of democracy?
Breaking: at least six more journalists detained, shoved into a van by Delhi Police as they were asking the cops about the detention of a journalist moments ago at the same location.
As I question the police, one of them tells me: ‘this is not the right time to ask anything’.
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I met this man at the Hanuman Mandir near CP. They had arrived in a group early in the morning and were giving bites to some media. Then police and CRPF came but didnt stop or detain these people. They just told some of the media not to interview there. Such a lawful force.
We saw a new strategy this time: the use of right-wing goons.
I spoke to one of the most violent goons: Devendra Pal from Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh. He was frank about using violence.
“If these bloody cockroaches want to divide India then they will be beaten in this way."
My report on what happened in Delhi yesterday:
scroll.in/article/1096313/ho…
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What kind of instruction has been given to the forces on ground? Target journalists? Take responsibility right now @CPDelhi
"Grabbed by the neck, shoved, mic broken, and clothes torn." Delhi Police attempted to detain @PeekTV_in journalists Vedant and Sara.
The priority for Delhi Police is no longer the protesters, but independent journalists reporting the truth. Watch how the media team was brutally targeted while on duty.
Report by @AkankhyaAk72623
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I have received similar inputs about detainees being beaten at Maidangarhi from my sources on ground. #Delhi
Receiving disturbing reports of an incident from Maidangarhi PS area that I am hoping @DelhiPolice will clarify.
This is what I heard : “Advocate Fidel Tom, practising in Delhi. went to the Sanjay Colony Police Post, Maidan Garhi, after receiving information that some protesters had been detained there. On reaching the police station, he enquired about the detainees and about reports that they were being beaten by the police. A man in plain clothes then approached him and said that he was a police officer. When he asked why he was not in uniform, he became agitated and forcibly took Adv Fidel to the washroom, where he and several others beat him up brutally.”
When contacted by a reporter from @thewire_in about these reports, the SHO only said “I will find out and tell you”.
Concerned ACP and DCP are cutting their calls.
Violence against anybody in custody or on police premises is unacceptable. That a lawyer also seems to have fallen foul of this disregard for the law and constitution is especially alarming.
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Delhi Update: Hundreds of protesters were picked up throughout the day, some of the taken with brute force, especially if they did not comply. #jantarmantar
Media harassment incident at CP, Delhi
Journalist Poonam Sharma of Bharat Ek Goonj alleges that she was pushed and mistreated by security personnel despite showing her press card.
She also claims that her son, who was accompanying her, was punched by security personnel.
Watch:
reports @aritry
The Hindu reports that the police questioned the nationality of the four Bengali men based on their name deletion in SIR.
Bengali Muslims are arbitrarily detained on suspicion of being Bangladeshi, pushed into Bangladesh, and then the courts have to interfere to bring them back. How long will this continue?
Deleted in SIR, four Bengal men now locked at Chhattisgarh detention centre for over a month
✍️@senjutiSG_
thehindu.com/news/national/w…
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On Sept 26, ECI said: The declaration attached to Form 6 for SIR has been upheld by the SC.
Now, CJI says this.
#BREAKING "Modified Form 6 has not been approved by us, let us be very clear" - CJI Surya Kant.
#ElectionCommisisonofIndia
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The citizens on the margins always lose the most. During form 6 process, residents say they faced the 23rd demolition at Chilla Khadar basti. The repeated demolitions have thinned out the jhuggi settlement; those who remain say they have nowhere to go.
On 25 September, several jhuggis located in Delhi’s Yamuna Khadar, also known as Chilla Khadar, was demolished by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).
Located just a few metres away from Mayur Vihar Phase I, the area had close to 100 jhuggis. Many of them were destroyed, rendering several families homeless.
Many residents have complained that their names were also left off from the SIR list while some had their names registered from the same place as their homes demolished.
Maktoob was on the ground speaking to people on the ground.
@nikita_jain15 reports:
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BLOs are overworked. They will not be able to visit all the people being served notices, especially in informal settlements. As we have seen during enumeration forms collection and distribution. Marginalized voters will pay the price.
Shameful incident. Please let us do our work @DelhiPolice
The Press Club of India is shocked and deeply concerned that the Delhi Police decided to detain at least two journalists who were covering a protest at Jantar Mantar on September 25 regarding actions of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
We urge the @DelhiPolice to apologise to the journalists who were not able to work and whose equipment was lost because of this incident, and to refrain from acting in this manner in the future.
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