NEW DELHI, 31 January 2021, (TON): Indian Police registered a case at the Alipur police station under section 186, 332, and 353 of the Indian Penal Code against 44 protesters including two journalists while they were covering farmers’ protest. All three sections correspond to obstructing any public servant in the discharge of his public function and are bailable offences. Police also levelled charges that he misbehaved with the police.

Meanwhile, Alipur Police authorities confirmed arrest of two journalists including Mandeep Punia, a freelance journalist and Dharmender Singh, while they were covering the ongoing farmers’ agitation at Delhi’s Singhu border. It was revealed that journalists; Mandeep Punia worked for Caravan magazine and Dharmender Singh worked for Online News India.

A group of around 150 men claiming to be “local residents” had managed to get past three layers of security barricades on 29 January and reach the protest site at the Singhu border. Leaders of farmers’ union have claimed that the mob was sponsored by the BJP and RSS. However, same could not be confirmed. One of the journalist was conditionally released.

As the news broke about Mandeep Punia’s detention and a video of him being dragged across the barricade went viral, Hartosh Bal, the political editor of Caravan magazine posted on Twitter that Mandeep Punia had spent the entire day trying to verify the truth behind the protest. “We’ve learnt Mandeep had spent the morning trying to track down those from BJP claiming to be ‘locals’ at Singhu,” Bal tweeted. He also wrote that the magazine was informed by Additional DCP J. Meena that an FIR (no: 52/21) was registered at the Alipur police station.

Those arrested including Mandeep Punia and Dharmender Singh complaint against ill treatment and torture by the Indian Police. Court proceeding will be held tomorrow on 1 February 2021.