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Who Is Srishti Jatav, Dalit Journalist Briefly Arrested For Covering Dhobi Ghat Slum Demolition?

Some other activists were also taken into custody while they were protesting against the demolition, students’ union All India Students’ Association tweeted. Jatav and the others were taken to the Jamia Nagar Police station.

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Ria Das
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Who is Srishti Jatav
Who is Srishti Jatav: Dalit Times journalist Srishti Jatav was briefly arrested by Delhi police on Wednesday afternoon when she reached Jamia Nagar for coverage. The woman journalist was reportedly covering the demolition of the Dhobi Ghat slum area near Batla House in Delhi. For the uninitiated, hundreds of people living in the slum cluster lost their homes to a demolition drive ordered by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in December based on a National Green Tribunal judgement. Jatav was released shortly after an outrage on social media following her arrest. The hashtag Stand With Sristi Jatav began trending on Twitter soon after.
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 Jatav was spotted outside Jamia Nagar police station after her release on Wednesday. Calling her a "revolutionary journalist", Bhim Army General Secretary Kanishk Singh tweeted while they were still outside the police station. We salute their spirit and courage, he wrote in Hindi.

In June, the Delhi High Court had issued an order that the government should make rehabilitation arrangements for the people living in Dhobi Ghat, Live Law reported. On Wednesday, the protesters demanded that the Delhi Police should follow the court’s orders and not undertake the demolition process before the residents were taken off the streets. Along with Jatav, some other activists were also taken into custody while they were protesting against the demolition, students’ union All India Students’ Association tweeted. Jatav and the others were taken to the Jamia Nagar Police station.

Jatav said that officials of Delhi Development Authority and some police officers had come to remove the slums built on the Dhobi Ghat of Jamia Nagar. When she reached there for the coverage, she and her cameraman Raju were taken into custody, Newslaundry reported.

However, the police are yet to release an official statement about the reason for her arrest.

Who is Srishti Jatav?

She is a journalist currently working with Dalit Times, a news website covering various social movements for the Dalits, poor and downtrodden, farmers, women and other public causes. Her Twitter bio says that Jatav is an Ambedkarite journalist.

Feature Image Credit: Srishti Jatav/Twitter

Delhi Police Dhobi Ghat Demolition Srishti Jatav
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