Farmers Movement Archive

Delhi based woman journalist faces backlash as aggressive farmers chase her, raise slogans

MUZAFFARNAGAR: A Delhi-based woman journalist working with a news channel had to face the anger of farmers so much so that she had to be rescued and moved to safety as a large crowd of farmers raised slogans and asked her to go back. Later, a video showing the crowd chasing her, began to trend on social media. The protesters said they were reacting against the journalist and the TV channel she represented for an alleged bias in reporting farm protests. According to the police, the woman journalist was reporting from the Mahaveer Chowk outside the GIC Ground where the mahapanchayat was being held, when a bunch of people started raising slogans against her. Within minutes, a huge crowd gathered on the spot and stopped her from reporting. She was chased by the crowd, following which, she was escorted to a local press office. When the crowd also gathered outside the press office and began to raise slogans, a local police team led by SP (city) Arpit Vijayavargiya moved her to safety with the help of local journalists. Later, the visibly shaken woman journalist said, “I am safe and want to thank the police officer and journalist friends who helped me.” Asked about the incident, the BKU media in-charge, Dharmender Malik, said, “The incident happened outside the mahapanchayat venue. We made special arrangements for the media and have full respect for them. Whoever has misbehaved with the woman reporter cannot be our people.”

The Times of India

2021-09-06

Meerut