Freelance journalist Sakshi Joshi assaulted ,detained

New Delhi, PTI: Sakshi, a Delhi-based independent journalist, was stopped, assaulted, and detained by police while covering wrestler-led protests against allegations of institutional sexual harassment in the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), focused on federation head Brijbhushan Sharan Singh.

In a video posted to Twitter, Sakshi is seen being searched by officers and pushed by police, who confiscated her mobile phone and camera before forcing her into a police van.

The journalist was taken to Mandhir Marg police station, and detained until around 2 am the following morning. Sakshi later registered a complaint on May 4, addressed to the Delhi Police Commissioner, in which she identified her illegal detention, due to laws prohibiting taking a woman into custody after sunset and before sunrise.

The incident faced widespread condemnation from media rights groups and press freedom advocates, including DIGIPUB, of which Sakshi is a member. DIGIPUB condemned the incident, demanding Indian Home Minister Amit Shah acknowledge the detention and calling on Delhi Police to investigate the incident.