New Delhi, 05 October (H.S.): The Press Club of India (PCI) has strongly condemned the alleged misbehavior with journalists during ongoing protests at Jantar Mantar in Delhi over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the demand for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The PCI called for prompt action on the complaints and criticised the suspension of internet services around the protest site, stating that arbitrarily restricting the flow of information is unacceptable in a democracy.

In view of the sensitivity of the matter, the Delhi Police has transferred the investigation into complaints received at Parliament Street Police Station to the Crime Branch. The Special Investigation Team will examine CCTV footage from the site, videos recorded by journalists and eyewitnesses, as well as records of personnel deployed on duty.

Earlier, students' organisations, activists and journalists staged an overnight protest outside Parliament Street Police Station on Sunday to protest the delay in the registration of FIRs. Following the demonstration, security deployment in the area was increased from Monday morning.

Opposition parties and civil society groups have alleged that a large number of eligible voters have been removed from the electoral rolls during the SIR process. The Election Commission, however, has rejected the allegation, maintaining that revisions are being carried out in accordance with the prescribed rules.

During the protests, several prominent activists and protesters, including Aam Aadmi Party leaders Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj, AISA national president Neha Bora, activist Yogendra Yadav and senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, were detained.

Meanwhile, a fresh controversy has emerged over several police personnel at Jantar Mantar not wearing name tags on their uniforms. According to officials, the measure was taken as a precautionary step to protect police personnel and their families from targeting and trolling on social media following the protests on July 20.

Protesters and legal experts, however, have described the police action as contrary to the principles of transparency and accountability.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar