Several journalists’ organisations, as well as Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, have slammed the government for the disrobing of a journalist and others at a police station in Madhya Pradesh and their photographs being circulated on social media.

Rahul tweeted: “The fourth pillar of democracy was disrobed in the lockup! Either sit in the lap of the government and sing their praise, or go to jail. The government of ‘New India’ is afraid of the truth.”

Police had initially justified the action on the eight men, including the journalist, on April 3 at Sidhi district’s Kotwali police station. The men had allegedly protested the arrest of a theatre artiste for allegedly derogatory posts against an MLA of the ruling BJP. After a public outcry, two officers were removed from active duty.

The Editors Guild of India said in a statement: “Further shockingly, the police shot pictures of the journalist and activists and released them on social media in order to shame and humiliate them.

“Though the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, has suspended the cops and ordered an inquiry into this horrendous case, but this increasing tendency of the police and local administration to brazenly attack and intimidate journalists is extremely disturbing and needs to be checked.”

Asking the Union home ministry to take cognisance of the recent attacks on journalists, the Guild added: “In another incident in Odisha on April 7, police in the Balasore district chained a journalist’s leg to a hospital bed after an alleged case of assault. The journalist, Loknath Delai, though has claimed that he was arrested in response to his reporting of corruption by the police and various irregularities in their affairs.”

A joint statement of the Press Club of India and the Indian Women’s Press Corps termed the Madhya Pradesh incident “reprehensible”.

“In order to defend itself, the Madhya Pradesh police and state apparatus are propagating the theory that the arrested persons were not journalists. Whether the arrested persons were journalists or not, or just ordinary citizens, nowhere in the criminal procedure code is it mentioned that arrested persons can be undressed and humiliated in full public glare and their naked photos be displayed on digital media platforms. Even during the Emergency period, the then dispensation did not stoop to such levels in its dealing with media persons,” the statement said.

The two media outfits also deplored the misuse of “lookout circulars to harass and intimidate critics of the Government like Aakar Patel”.

While a Delhi court had rapped the CBI on Thursday for stopping Amnesty International India chairman Patel from flying to Boston and suggested that the agency director apologise for his subordinate’s failure to inform Patel about the circular, a special CBI court on Friday stayed that order. Patel has alleged the action was the outcome of “malice” over his recent book, The Price of the Modi Years.

Recently, the Enforcement Directorate prevented columnist Rana Ayyub from flying to London, a decision revoked by Delhi High Court.

The National Alliance of Journalists and the Delhi Union of Journalists called the police action in Madhya Pradesh “barbarism” and demanded “a time-bound enquiry, not just a hogwash”.

Earlier this week, journalists were roughed up at an unauthorised “Hindu Mahapanchayat” at Delhi’s Burari grounds and three among them who were Muslims were allegedly assaulted after the attackers learnt about their identity. One of the assaulted scribes has been booked by the police on the charge of incitement.

In Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia, journalists who uncovered the alleged leak of a question paper were arrested for not revealing their sources.