In this Feb. 27, 2020 photo, a photojournalist takes photographs of Indian paramilitary soldiers patrolling a street vandalized in violence in New Delhi. Reporting in India has never been without its risks, but journalists say attacks on the press during last week’s deadly communal riots between Hindus and Muslims in New Delhi show the situation is deteriorating. — AP

NEW DELHI (AP) — Reporting in India has never been without its risks, but journalists say attacks on the media during last week’s deadly communal riots between Hindus and Muslims in New Delhi show the situation is deteriorating.

One reporter was shot and survived, another had his teeth knocked out, and many more said Hindu mobs demanded proof of religion and tried to keep them from documenting vandalism and violence that included people attacking one another with axes, swords, metal pipes and guns.

Authorities have yet to provide an official account of what sparked the 72-hour clash that left 42 people dead and hundreds wounded, though tensions between Hindus and Muslims have been building for months over a new citizenship law. Nor have they addressed journalists’ allegations that they were singled out by Hindu mobs.

This story first appeared in https://clarionindia.net on March 2, 2020, more