New Delhi: The Editors Guild of India has expressed concern about the arrest of a television journalist in Punjab.

The journalist has since got bail, but in its May 6 statement the Guild noted that she had been arrested when she was on assignment and that the law enforcement should have exercised restraint before detaining her and filing a first information report.

"The Editors Guild of India is concerned about the attitude of the law enforcement agencies towards journalists that has been on display through several incidents noted and decried. The latest seems to be the detention of a Times Now reporter where established norms were not followed by the Punjab police," it noted.

Its statement is signed by president Seema Mustafa, general secretary Anant Nath, and treasurer Shriram Pawar.

Bhavana Kishore, a reporter with Times Network, was arrested along with Mrityunjay Kumar, and driver Parminder Singh, after a car accident took place while they were on their way to cover the inauguration of a mohalla clinic in Ludhiana. Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and AAP convenor and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal were present at the event.

The FIR was lodged on the basis of a complaint by a woman who said that the car being driven by Singh and which had Kishore and Kumar riding in it had knocked her down and hurt her hand. The woman too was allegedly on her way to the inauguration.

The woman told police that an argument ensued between the party in the car and herself, during which casteist slurs were used by the former.

Even though Kishore was not driving the car, reports said that she was detained immediately afterwards, along with Singh and Kumar. Her channel has claimed that this was backlash by the AAP government after its reports on a Rs 42-crore renovation to Kejriwal's official residence.

The Guild's statement noted that the FIR seems excessive and hasty and the processes followed went against several set norms.

"Times Now has claimed that even though she was not driving the car, she was detained by the Punjab police and taken away in a car by a male cop, without the presence of a female police person, which is against the well established procedures with respect to arrest or detention of women. Further, an FIR has also been registered in a Ludhiana police station, which appears excessive and with undue haste," the Guild said.

It also noted that he police should have acted with restraint.

"The Guild also notes that given that the reporter was on a journalistic assignment, the law enforcement agencies should have exercised due restraint with respect to detention and subsequent filing of FIR," it said.

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