Press group requests investigation into violent attack against journalists in India

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Thursday called on authorities in India to investigate a violent attack against two journalists while covering the Health Minister’s visit to the eastern state of Jharkhand and to ensure that all perpetrators are held accountable.
The reported attack took place on April 28, when Indian journalists Ashish Kumar and Sushant Kumar Soni were assaulted while covering a media briefing by Jharkhand Health Minister Irfan Ansari.
According to a complaint filed by the reporters, a crowd of approximately 50 individuals attacked them after they asked the minister about a deadly air ambulance crash in Chatra district that had occurred in February. In their complaint, Ashish Kumar said that people threw him to the crowd, where he was kicked and punched, resulting in several injuries to his whole body. Soni was also assaulted when attackers tried to seize his camera and other reporting equipment.
Both of the assaulted journalists alleged that the attack was intended to cause grievous physical harm to them and constituted attempted murder. Furthermore, Soni noted that the attack occurred in the presence of the health minister and police officers, who did not intervene. It’s the journalists’ colleagues who ultimately rescued them and took them to the hospital for treatment.
CPJ’s Asia-Pacific program coordinator, Kunal Majumder, said:
The assault on Ashish Kumar and Sushant Kumar Soni was not only an attack on two journalists carrying out their professional duties, but also a serious assault on press freedom in Jharkhand. It is deeply disturbing that the attack took place in the presence of Health Minister Irfan Ansari and police officers.
The committee further indicated that despite receiving the journalists’ complaint, police have not registered a First Information Report, which is a document that triggers a formal investigation, and continue to treat the incident as a preliminary inquiry, thereby preventing immediate arrests. Therefore, it urged local authorities to conduct an independent and effective investigation and to ensure that all those behind the assault are held accountable.
This is not the first time that CPJ has requested the release or protection of a journalist from Indian authorities, amid a global pattern of increasing attacks against reporters. In November 2025, CPJ called on Indian authorities to provide safety measures for an investigative journalist named Rana Ayyub after she had received threats from an unidentified caller. Additionally, in March 2026, a coalition of international organizations, including CPJ, called for the release of detained journalist Irfan Mehraj, who was arrested in 2023 on charges of conspiracy and terrorism financing.

Facts Only

* On April 28, journalists Ashish Kumar and Sushant Kumar Soni were assaulted.
* The assault occurred while they were covering a media briefing by Jharkhand Health Minister Irfan Ansari.
* The attack was allegedly carried out by a crowd of approximately 50 individuals.
* The assault followed the journalists' questions to the minister regarding a deadly air ambulance crash in Chatra district in February.
* Ashish Kumar alleged he was thrown into the crowd and subsequently kicked and punched, sustaining multiple injuries.
* Sushant Kumar Soni was assaulted when attackers attempted to seize his camera and reporting equipment.
* The journalists alleged the attack was intended to cause grievous physical harm and constituted attempted murder.
* The assault took place in the presence of the Health Minister and police officers, who did not intervene.
* Police have not registered a First Information Report (FIR) regarding the incident.
* The incident is currently being treated as a preliminary inquiry.
* CPJ urged local authorities to conduct an independent investigation and ensure accountability.
* CPJ referenced past requests for journalist protection to Indian authorities in November 2025 and March 2026.

Executive Summary

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on Indian authorities to investigate a violent attack against journalists Ashish Kumar and Sushant Kumar Soni who were assaulted on April 28. The assault occurred while they were covering a media briefing by Jharkhand Health Minister Irfan Ansari. The attack reportedly happened after the journalists asked the minister about a deadly air ambulance crash in Chatra district in February. The victims alleged that a crowd of approximately 50 individuals assaulted them, kicking and punching them, and attempted to seize their equipment. They further alleged the attack was intended to cause grievous physical harm and constituted attempted murder, noting that the assault occurred in the presence of the Health Minister and police officers, who did not intervene. Despite the journalists’ complaint, the police have not registered a First Information Report (FIR), treating the incident as a preliminary inquiry. CPJ highlighted that this failure to initiate a formal investigation prevents immediate arrests and urged local authorities to conduct an independent investigation and ensure accountability for the perpetrators. The organization also referenced previous efforts by Indian authorities to protect journalists, noting a global pattern of attacks against reporters.

Full Take

The failure of law enforcement to register an FIR and initiate an investigation transforms a violent incident into an institutional failure, suggesting that the response to press freedom is often secondary to official processes. The fact that the assault occurred in the presence of high-ranking officials—the Health Minister and police officers—who failed to intervene, points to a systemic vulnerability where institutional authority may be complicit or indifferent to threats against the press. This creates a dangerous environment where journalists are unprotected, not just from physical harm, but from the fundamental right to safety in exercising their duties. The pattern of non-action by the police, treating the case as a preliminary inquiry rather than a criminal matter, demonstrates a pattern of evasion of accountability. This outcome directly challenges the principle of press freedom by allowing perpetrators to evade justice, irrespective of the severity of the alleged attempted murder. The context of previous requests for journalist protection underscores a structural pattern: external advocacy is required to force state action on issues of journalist safety, rather than assuming state machinery will automatically protect reporters. The implication is that true accountability requires independent, proactive investigation rather than relying on reactive requests.

Sentinel — Human

Confidence

The text exhibits the coherence and structural integrity of high-quality journalism, incorporating layered context, which points toward human authorship, though it is highly structured.

Signals Detected

Moderate sentence length variance; transitions are functional rather than purely mechanical.

Coherent narrative flow; the focus remains tightly on the immediate incident and the institutional reaction.

Effective use of external context (previous CPJ actions) to frame the current request, which is a common journalistic technique.

No specific fabrication detected; attribution and factual claims are tied directly to the reported event and named organizations.

Human Indicators

The text successfully integrates specific, temporally separated examples of previous CPJ interventions, suggesting context gathered by a human source familiar with the organization's historical record.

The handling of the reported details (e.g., specific names of journalists, minister, and location) is precise, typical of beat reporting.