A woman reporter with Times Now was allegedly kicked and struck on the head, and her cameraperson was manhandled, while both were reporting live from Kerala House during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led protest march to Parliament on July 20.

The reporter, who spoke to Newslaundry on condition of anonymity, said protesters accused her of belonging to “Godi media” before the confrontation turned physical. An FIR was registered against the protesters on July 25.

She is not the only woman journalist to have taken legal recourse. A reporter with NDTV spoke about the harassment she faced while covering the same protest. 

Between the two of them, the reporters’ accounts describe a pattern of heckling, physical assault, and – in the NDTV reporter’s case – her family being targeted alongside rape threats directed at her. Two more women journalists, from Navbharat Times and the independent outlet Molitics, also described similar hostility, suggesting the harassment was not limited to reporters from television networks protesters branded “Godi media”.

FIR filed after alleged assault near Kerala House

The Times Now reporter was on the ground giving a live report at around 2 pm on July 20 when protesters began questioning whether she belonged to “Godi Media” and made the situation hostile for her and her cameraperson. She said she did not retaliate. 

“Please, all of you listen to what I am saying in my live (report). If you think something in it is wrong, let me know,” she told them.

She recalled protesters throwing water and bottles at other journalists present. “I asked my cameraperson, ‘If this happens to us, we will not go away. We are here to do our job’.”

As the confrontation escalated, she alleged: “I started saying something, and they blocked the camera view. Somebody grabbed my cameraperson’s neck from behind, someone kicked my right leg, and a person in a black shirt struck me on the head.”

Despite being offered the option to leave, she chose to stay. “I want to do this because, as a reporter, I want to cover it. My office told me I could leave, but I didn’t.”

The FIR was registered at the Parliament Street police station under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 – 115(2), which penalises voluntarily causing hurt; 126(2), for wrongful restraint; and 74 and 3(5), which pertain to outraging a woman’s modesty.

Online abuse, targeting family

The NDTV reporter was subjected to abusive language while covering the protest on the ground, with hecklers saying things like “Dalal, suwar, you sleep with your father, your mother is …”, along with multiple rape and death threats online.

The harassment did not remain confined to her. Her mother was reportedly confronted at a public park by locals who allegedly told her, “Why did your daughter lie? She is a liar, Godi media.” Like her, journalists from other mainstream television channels have reported similar abuse from protesters branding them “Godi media”.

Chased through Rajiv Chowk, took shelter in a bank

Also on July 20, a Navbharat Times reporter was allegedly attacked by a group of protesters after arriving at Rajiv Chowk in the afternoon.

“When I reached the crowd, they started saying ‘Godi media’. It escalated to some manhandling, and then two to three men came to help me. I then moved toward the traffic, but they (the alleged assaulters) followed me until 6:30 pm,” she told Newsalundry.

She reportedly took refuge inside a Punjab National Bank branch for four hours, where she said the bank manager was helpful. A call to the PCR was met with assurances that a team would be sent, although it could not reach her immediately as protesters were allegedly pelting stones. The DCP eventually arrived at the location and escorted her to safety. She said she had tried to leave the bank twice but could not, with protesters waiting outside.

The abuse continued online. 

Speaking to Newslaundry, she said, “I have received more than 300 threats on my social media, threatening to kill me, and these accounts don’t have any followers. What happened to me that day was traumatic. Social media trolling and threats are even more disturbing. That’s why I’m pissed off; these trolls are even dragging my family into this.”

Independent media reporters weren’t spared either

The harassment of women reporters at the CJP protest was not confined to those from mainstream television networks or print outlets protesters labelled “Godi media”. Journalists from independent outlets faced similar hostility.

On July 22, Gitanjali, a reporter with Molitics, was reporting from Sansad Marg when a group of students began shouting and urging people to move ahead to where the police were standing.

“I was reporting from Sansad Marg when suddenly some students came shouting and said, ‘Move ahead, move ahead.’ I stopped my PTC and went ahead to ask them, ‘Why are you provoking people?’ They said, ‘Our brother was beaten up, and we want justice,’ but then I said, ‘But you're causing problems for everyone.’ Then suddenly they started shouting 'Godi media'. I told them, ‘Check out our channel first’.”

A Newslaundry team was present at the scene as the confrontation unfolded, and one of our correspondents intervened to speak with the protesters directly.

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