Media Bodies call for punitive action against Bhind Police officials for assaulting journalists on May 1

New Delhi : The Press Club of India, Indian Women’s Press Corps, and Delhi Union of Journalists strongly condemn and call for punitive action against the Bhind Police (Madhya Pradesh), including Superintendent of Police (SP), Asit Yadav, for the brutal manhandling of journalists Sashikant Goyal and Amarkant Chauhan on May 1, 2025.

Even more shocking is that the physical violence against the journalists was inflicted under the supervision of none other than the SP Bhind, Asit Yadav, in his chamber after Goyal and Chauhan were “invited” to have tea with him. Goyal works for the MP-based news portal Dainik Bejor Ratna, while Chauhan is the Bhind bureau chief of Swaraj Express.

Various news reports suggest that the Bhind Police was displeased with the continuous reporting about the illegal sand mining activities in the Chambal river that are carried out by the sand mafia in connivance with the local police and wanted to “teach” the journalists a “lesson”, who refused to refrain despite earlier warnings.

Reports also indicate that besides Goyal and Chauhan, more than half a dozen other journalists were also present in the SP’s chamber, who had been stripped down to their undergarments before being physically assaulted prior to their arrival. After some small talk by the SP, both Goyal and Chauhan were brutally assaulted by police officials who were present in the SP’s chamber.

On May 4, the two journalists were their way to Delhi from Gwalior to meet Member of Parliament, Jyotiraditya Scindia, to appraise him of their plight. But Goyal and Chuhan were picked up from the Gwalior station while they were waiting to catch a train to Delhi by one Saurabh Sharma—also a journalist—on the pretext of going to Delhi by road.

Instead, they were taken to a nearby dhaba where some police officials were waiting, who took Goyal and Chauhan to the SP’s bungalow to work out a “compromise”. They were told that the police has allegedly received multiple complaints of professional misdemeanour against them. Hence, they should no longer pursue the matter of being assaulted by Bhind Police officials on May 1 and drop the charges.

On May 5, they were once again summoned by Superintendent Yadav. This time to his office, where they were forced to record a video statement in the presence of other police officials, stating that all matters between them and the police have been “resolved”. Subsequently, the said video was distributed by the Bhind Police through WhatsApp with the intention of destroying the credibility of Goyal and Chauhan.

Faced with continuous harassment at the hands of Bhind Police, Goyal and Chauhan came to Delhi on May 19 to file a complaint with the Press Council of India and the National Human Rights Commission. 

The complaints details the brutality meted out to them at the hands of Bhind SP, and the subsequent trail of harassment, which has forced Goyal and Chauhan to temporarily abandon their profession of journalism.

The State Press Club, Madhya Pradesh, is already seized of the matter and issued a statement on May 3, demanding action against the police officials.

The Press Club of India along with the undersigned organisations strongly urge the Director General of Police (DGP), Madhya Pradesh Mr. Kailash Makwana (IPS), to take note of the serious transgressions committed by the Bhind Police. We urge him to conduct an impartial inquiry into the incident of police assault on Goyal and Chauhan on May 1 and their subsequent harassment for simply doing their jobs. We would like to remind the DGP that reporting about illegal activities by vested interests is not a crime, instead, it’s the duty of journalists.

We call upon the Press Council of India to treat this matter with utmost seriousness and follow the process of law against SP Bhind, Asit Yadav, and other police officials who took part in the orgy of violence against the journalists. We expect the Press Council of India to issue instructions to the DGP Madhya Pradesh Police to preserve all CCTV footage at the office and residence of SP Bhind along with other electronic evidence.

We would like to remind the Press Council of India that, among other things, it exists to protect press freedom and journalists against violence and threats to their right to profession. The Press Council of India should exercise the considerable powers vested in it under the Press Council of India Act, 1978.

At the same time, we hope that the National Human Rights Commission would take cognizance of the incident (and the complaint) and uses its power to hold the errant police officials to account.