In a shocking turn of events, senior journalist at Doordarshan, Ashok Shrivastava was targeted in an attack on 18th September in Delhi. The attack comes after Shrivastava extended support to IndiaToday journalist Rohit Sharma who was assaulted by Congress supporters after he asked Indian Overseas Congress (IOC) chairperson Sam Pitroda about Rahul Gandhi’s stance on Hindus in Bangladesh.
In a video recorded right after the attack, the rear windshield of Ashok Shrivastava’s car was broken. The DD News anchor’s car was hit from behind by an SUV at around midnight when he was leaving office. Fortunately, Ashok Shrivastava is safe. “Last night, senior journalist Ashok Shrivasta was the target of a deadly attack. As he was leaving his office around midnight, an SUV rammed into his car from behind. Yesterday, Ashok Shrivastava protested against the misbehaviour and attack on India Today journalist Rohit Sharma in America. The entire ecosystem was infuriated by this protest. But do the voices of protest demand anyone’s life?” journalist Vikas Bhadoria posted on X on Thursday morning.
कल रात वरिष्ठ पत्रकार @AshokShrivasta6 पर जानलेवा हमला हुआ, आधी रात को जब वे अपने दफ़्तर से निकल रहे थे तभी उनकी कार को एक SUV ने पीछे से ज़ोरदार टक्कर मारी, कल अशोक श्रीवास्तव जी ने इंडिया टुडे के पत्रकार रोहित शर्मा के साथ अमेरिका में हुई बदसलूकी और हमले के ख़िलाफ़ प्रदर्शन… pic.twitter.com/nEbPwzsFbj
— Vikas Bhadauria (@vikasbha) September 19, 2024
Notably, on 18th September, Ashok Shrivastava and several other journalists met Union Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw to register their protest against the manhandling of India Today’s Rohit Sharma. This, however, did not sit well with Congress supporters on social media who have been continuously trolling and threatening the Shrivastava online.
A journalist was manhandled simply for doing his job.
— Abhishek Agarwal 🇮🇳 (@AbhishekOfficl) September 18, 2024
Rahul Gandhi Ji’s family seems to believe they’re above questioning, despite their rant on media freedom. Violence against the press is unacceptable.
Kudos to @AshokShrivasta6 Ji for protesting this injustice and… pic.twitter.com/M37fppXLDV
In an X post, Ashok Shrivastava shared a screenshot of a threat message he received from a self-proclaimed Congress supporter purportedly residing in Bhopal Madhya Pradesh. Tagging the state authorities, Shrivastava sought action against the person who sent threat message to him.
“This @savinay_singh Savinay Singh of Bhopal is constantly sending me messages on social media and threatening to kill me. However, I could not save all his messages. He has sent many messages and deleted them. Investigate this and take action,” the senior journalist posted.
.@MPPoliceDeptt @CMMadhyaPradesh भोपाल का ये @savinay_singh सविनय सिंह ने मुझे सोशल मीडिया पर लगातार मैसेज भेज रहा है और मुझे मारने की धमकी दे रहा है। हालांकि इसके सारे मैसेज मैं सेव नहीं कर पाया। इसने कई मैसेज भेज कर डिलीट कर दिए हैं। इसकी जांच करके कार्रवाई करें pic.twitter.com/gIP2xnRNor
— Ashok Shrivastav (@AshokShrivasta6) September 19, 2024
Condemning last night’s attack on Shrivastava, Bhartiya Janata Party national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla accused the Congress party of suppressing press freedom suggesting that the attack on Ashok Shrivastava may have involved Congress supporters.
Congress’ Emergency Mindset?
— Shehzad Jai Hind (Modi Ka Parivar) (@Shehzad_Ind) September 19, 2024
Just yesterday senior journalist @AshokShrivasta6 ji had protested against the misbehavior and attack on India Today journalist Rohit Sharma in America. The entire eco-system of 'Mohabbat Ki Dukaan' was infuriated.
Last night Ashok Shrivastav was… pic.twitter.com/Gv3sBjfSqE
“Congress’ Emergency Mindset? Just yesterday senior journalist @AshokShrivasta6 ji had protested against the misbehavior and attack on India Today journalist Rohit Sharma in America. The entire eco-system of ‘Mohabbat Ki Dukaan’ was infuriated. Last night Ashok Shrivastav was attacked. When he was leaving his office his car was hit hard from behind The culprit will not be spared but an attack on the lives of those who speak for free speech and press freedom? This is Emergency Mindset !!,” Poonawalla posted on X.
Responding to the incident, BJP IT cell chief Amit Malaviya said that the alleged attack was “not a coincidence but an experiment”. He said that the entire eco-system of ‘Mohabbat Ki Dukaan’ was infuriated by the protest by Shrivastava and others against the Congress party for the attack on journalist in the USA.
ये संयोग नहीं प्रयोग है। कल ही DD न्यूज के वरिष्ठ पत्रकार अशोक श्रीवास्तव ने इंडिया टुडे के पत्रकार रोहित शर्मा के साथ अमेरिका में हुई बदसलूकी और हमले के खिलाफ प्रदर्शन किया था। इस प्रदर्शन से ‘मोहब्बत की दुकान’ वाला पूरा ईको सिस्टम तिलमिला उठा था।
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) September 19, 2024
कल रात ही अशोक श्रीवास्तव पर… pic.twitter.com/IKV2bNcrOi
Malviya added, “The culprit will not be spared, but an attack on the lives of those who protest? Congress should come out of its emergency mentality. This country is not their property and journalists are not their slaves.”
