The Editors Guild of India was upset at the “high-handed” and “arbitrary police action” against journalists during the lockdown to curb the spread of novel coronavirus. Such an action would be “self-defeating”, it said.
There are reports from Mumbai, Kolkata and other cities of the police beating journalists though news gathering, an essential service, is allowed.
“Such an action is self-defeating when media freedom is critically important for covering the outbreak and the state response,” the Guild said. It said the police should know that their job was to facilitate media coverage and not to impede it. “The Guild, therefore, urges all law enforcement agencies to let the media play its role as smoothly as possible.”
The Guild urged the government to hold a regular briefing by a Minister for reporters to ensure that communication did not suffer.
