Junior home minister Nityanand Rai, in reply to a question, said the existing laws for protection of citizens also cover journalists.
While stating that ‘police’ and ‘public order’ are State subjects, making state governments responsible for prevention, detection and investigation of crimes, he reminded the LS that the home ministry has, from time to time, issued advisories to states and UTs, asking them to maintain law and order and ensure that that any person who takes law into his/her own hands is punished promptly as per law. “An advisory specifically on safety of journalists was issued to states/UTs on October 20, 2017, requesting them to strictly enforce the law to ensure safety and security of media persons,” Rai said.
He also added that there was no specific data maintained by the National Crime Records Bureau with respect to attacks against journalists.