SOPs for Safety and Security of Journalists

April 18, 2023

A recent incident in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh has raised concerns about the safety and security of journalists in India. On April 15, 2023, mafia don-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother were shot dead by three individuals posing as TV news reporters. The assailants were carrying identity cards, a mic, and a camera, and one of them shot Atiq Ahmed at point-blank range when he was interacting with media persons.

The incident has prompted the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to draft a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the safety and security of journalists. The decision to draft the SOP was taken under the direction of Prime Minister Modi. It aims to ensure the safety of media persons while following the accused and interviewing such individuals while they are in custody.

MHA’s Caution on Safety of Journalists

This is not the first time that the MHA has expressed concern about the safety of journalists. On October 20, 2017, the Ministry urged all States “to strictly enforce the law to ensure that a peaceful environment prevails, allowing journalists/media personnel to exercise freedom of speech and expression in their professional pursuit; ensure that investigations are concluded in a time-bound manner and public trust in criminal justice system is maintained.”

The advisory further highlighted the importance of the Fourth Estate as an institution of democracy. It ensures that citizens are able to express their opinions freely without any fear or coercion, as provided under the Constitution. The advisory emphasized that incidents of attack on journalists/media persons need to be investigated promptly to ensure that criminals get prosecuted in a time-bound manner. State governments have the power to provide security to individuals based on threat perceptions.

The Prayagraj Incident: What Happened

Atiq Ahmed and his brother Khalid Azim alias Ashraf were being escorted by about a dozen police personnel for a routine medical check-up when they were shot dead by three assailants. According to the FIR that was filed after the shooting incident, the assailants threw the mic and camera and opened fire with semi-automatic weapons when the duo were speaking with reporters. One of the accused was injured in cross-firing, and some media persons were injured in a stampede-like situation when the incident occurred.

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