Times Now journalist Dev Kotak receives support after attack at CJP protest; media veterans, politicians condemn assault

Dev Kotak Times Now: Several people expressed support for Kotak and the wider journalist fraternity, condemning the assault

Dev Kotak Times Now: Dev Kotak, a Times Now reporter covering the ongoing CJP protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi was assaulted by a large group on Tuesday, July 21, while attempting to interview one of the protest organisers. The incident has renewed concerns over the safety of journalists reporting from protest sites.

The incident has renewed concerns over the safety of journalists covering protests and public demonstrations. While criticism of media coverage is not uncommon, assaults on media personnel while carrying out their professional responsibilities have once again brought the issue of journalists' safety at public events into focus.

The reporter, Dev Kotak, said he had been covering the protest for the past 23 days and was familiar to several organisers and volunteers of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), having interviewed many members of the group during this period.

According to Kotak, the incident took place when he and his cameraman, Rajesh Sharma, reached the protest site to interview CJP co-founder Saurav Das.

Following the incident, several people expressed support for Kotak and the wider journalist fraternity, condemning the assault and calling for the safety of media personnel covering public events.

Kotak, who has been covering the CJP protest from Day-1 right from ground zero over the past three weeks, said, “Out of the three co-founders, I have interviewed Saurav Das and Abhijeet Dipke. Having met both of them on several occasions, the members also know me. The volunteers were behind the barricade, closer to the stage and I was on the unprotected side where the mob furry was coming onto me. It was a case of mob lynching. They kept hitting and punching me throughout as I tried to make my way out. More people kept coming.”

The reporter said that during the assault, his shirt and jeans were torn, his watch was snatched, his mobile phone went missing and his spectacles were forcibly taken away.

Here's how people supported Dev Kotak