Freelance journalist Mandeep Punia had gone LIVE on Facebook to expose the alleged nexus between the Delhi Police and BJP workers, who caused large-scale violence at the farmers’ protest site on Friday. Punia, who’s been contributing to The Caravan, had shared evidence that sought to establish links between the perpetrators of violence on Friday with that of the ruling BJP.
Punia, who said he was present at the protest site when the violence broke out on Friday, had said, “A mob comprising 50-60 people arrived carrying the tricolour. They began abusing farmers and threatening to teach them a lesson. Soon, they started pelting stones.”
Punia said that whilst the mob consisted of only 50-60 people, the number of police personnel present there stood at around 4000-5000. “2,000 cops were just providing them with back-up. They (mob) were pelting stones while the Delhi Police provided them with back-up…They even hurled petrol bombs and attempted to burn tents accommodating women protesters,” Punia said in his Facebook LIVE.
Punia also showed the photos of those involved in violence and establishing their links with the BJP. Known for his brave reporting, the journalist had expressed his disappointment at his fraternity for not reporting accurately on Friday’s violence. “The way media reported this (violence) hurts me a lot. This is the first time that the reporting in the media has been completely opposite to what actually happened. Among them are some really good reporters, who I’ve known personally. They too have indulged in wrong reporting,” he had said.
The Delhi Police had detained Punia and another journalist Dharmendra Singh on Saturday night. While Singh was released immediately, the Delhi Police have not released Punia. Hartosh Singh Bal of The Caravan said that the cops from the Alipur Police Station had informed him about Punia being booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. He wrote, “we have been informed by addl DCP J. Meena that FIR 52/21 PS Alipur has been filed under sections 186, 332, 353 IPC, we’ll take whatever legal recourse is necessary. We’ve learnt Mandeep had spent the morning trying to track down those from the BJP claiming to be ‘locals’ at Singhu.”
The news of Punia’s arrest has sent shockwaves with journalists registering their outrage and demanding his release.