Bahukhandi stated that the Press Club of India (PCI) has strongly condemned this incident and has demanded that immediate action be taken against the perpetrators.
In a dramatic display of force, a large contingent of police stormed the United News of India (UNI) office at Rafi Marg in New Delhi yesterday, forcibly removing journalists and handling one of India’s oldest news agencies as if it were a crime scene.
The manhandling of journalists that took place within the premises of the UNI office is clearly not only inhumane but also constitutes a direct violation of the constitutional right to work, asserted Prem Bahukhandi, an Executive Member of the Press Club of India, and Dhirendra Pratap, Central President of the Uttarakhand State Agitators’ Struggle Committee and a former Minister of State, during a conversation with UNI Varta.
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In an unprecedented atrocity and attack on freedom of media in India, the Rafi Marg office of the nation’s oldest news agency, United News of India (UNI), was literally attacked by a police force that would put an anti-terror operation to shame. Employees were not given time to… pic.twitter.com/O1H18imaPs
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— The Statesman (@TheStatesmanLtd) March 20, 2026
Citing journalist colleagues present at the scene, they reported that several staff members, including female journalists, were forcibly removed from their workplace and were not even permitted to retrieve their personal belongings. Most concerning is the fact that, before the incident, the journalists had received no directive from the management to vacate the premises; yet this action was executed in haste, seemingly to appease a “local tycoon.”
Bahukhandi stated that the conduct of the police toward journalists on duty, following a court order related to a land dispute, is deeply disturbing. He further informed that the Press Club of India (PCI) has strongly condemned this incident and has demanded that immediate action be taken against the perpetrators.
Press Club of India expresses deep shock over manhandling of journalists at United News of India premises, 9 Rafi Marg, New Delhi, last evening following police action linked to a land dispute. @PMOIndia | @HMOIndia | @AmitShah | @DelhiPolice
| @CMODelhi | @gupta_rekha |… pic.twitter.com/Gf1LseoBEW— The Statesman (@TheStatesmanLtd) March 21, 2026
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