Delhi Sealing Drive: Photojournalist Alleges Assault By Police

Vipin Sharma alleged that police took his camera, deleted his pictures & detained him for taking a sensitive photo.

Vipin Sharma being detained by the police

(Image Courtesy: Facebook/Vipin Sharma)

Vipin Sharma, a photojournalist with a Hindi daily, has alleged assault and manhandling by the Delhi police while he was covering the protests by traders against the South Delhi Municipal Corporation’s (SDMC) sealing drive on Thursday, 8 March in Delhi’s Amar Colony.

In a Facebook post by Sharma, he alleged that the police snatched his camera from him, deleted his pictures and dragged him to the police station.

I don’t belong to any political party, neither am I for or against the sealing. I am just a photojournalist. Taking photographs is my job. I don’t know what upset the police that they snatched away my camera, deleted the pictures and detained me to the police station like a criminal. Since when did clicking pictures become a crime?

Vipin Sharma in his Facebook post

According to Scroll, traders alleged that the journalist had captured the photograph of Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Amit Sharma slapping a store employee.

“There was a law and order situation. They [the police] had to contain the crowd and in that, they [the photojournalists] were restrained. An inquiry will take place in the matter,” said Delhi Police spokesperson Dependra Pathak, as quoted by Scroll.

The police also alleged that the traders protesting against the sealing drive had attempted to stop traffic on an arterial road.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (southeast district) Chinmoy Biswa said that the police were trying to stop them from blocking the Ring Road and that nobody was beaten by them.

According to The Indian Express, the SDMC, assisted by the Delhi Police, closed 400 of 700 shops as part of the sealing drive.

(With inputs from The Indian express and Scroll)