Journalist Raghav Trivedi, who works with the digital outlet Molitics, was beaten up and locked in a room allegedly by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers while covering Union home minister Amit Shah’s rally in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh. Trivedi was taken to hospital for treatment after the attack.

According to him, he spoke to several women at the rally who said they had been given Rs 100 to attend and said they did not know who Shah is. When he asked BJP workers at the rally about this allegation, he was first asked to delete videos of these women and then attacked.

“Initially, they denied any wrongdoing but when I informed them I had recorded statements of women, a group forcibly took me to a secluded place and demanded I delete the recording. When I refused, they began to assault me… I pleaded with police and bystanders for help, but no one intervened… I lost consciousness. When I regained consciousness, I found myself in hospital,” Trivedi told The Indian Express.

An FIR has been registered against six unknown persons under Sections 147 (rioting), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the IPC based on a complaint from Trivedi’s colleague and cameraperson, Sanjeet Sahni.

In a video of the incident police persons can be seen in the vicinity while Trivedi is beaten, but do not intervene. Trivedi too confirmed that the police did not act. He also says that the attackers used anti-Muslim slurs against him. “I kept requesting people to stop. There were 40-50 police personnel too, but no one came to my rescue as they called me ‘mullah’ and ‘attanki’ and punched me 150-200 times,” he told Newslaundry.

Several opposition parties and leaders have come out strongly in Trivedi’s support, and condemned both BJP workers and leaders and the Uttar Pradesh police for the incident.

“These incidents are a sign that the people of BJP are frustrated with the defeat that is visible. Now the injustice is about to end,” the Congress said on X.

Several senior journalists too have condemned the attack. The Press Club of India in a statement “vehemently condemned” what happened and said, “We urge the EC and local authorities to ensure strict action against the attackers.”

“Journalists in their day to day reportage have been subjected to regular physical intimidation, harassment and attack. Such things undermine India, being the fourth pillar of democracy,” the statement concluded.

In the recently released 2024 World Press Freedom Index, India ranked at 159 of 176 countries. Reporters Without Borders, which releases the rankings, said that India’s position is “unworthy of a democracy”.