A routine media assignment at the Supreme Court grounds quickly descended into chaos, leaving a pregnant journalist injured and hospitalized following a confrontation with Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, and his supporters. The incident occurred during an opposition protest regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll. The demonstrators had gathered to demand the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Richa Parashar, a journalist for the digital news platform Oneindia, was assigned to cover the gathering. Parashar, who is currently in the first trimester of her pregnancy, approached the protest with the simple intention of obtaining a standard statement from the political leaders present. Setting the context for her presence at the venue, she clarified her professional credentials and the initial interactions with the political team. “I am not a random influencer. I am a journalist for Oneindia, a massive platform with approximately 22-23 million followers. I was present with the Oneindia microphone. I offered my microphone but was signalled to remove it, which I did. However, other channel microphones were being placed there, so I presented mine again.”

What began as a standard media gaggle rapidly escalated into a physical altercation without warning. Parashar described the sheer suddenness of the confrontation, noting the aggressive demeanor of the political leader before the physical contact began. “It took place within a moment. I could not understand anything. The cameraman who was with me was standing behind me. Rahul Gandhi, with a very vile expression, moved forward, and I did not even know what had happened. He suddenly grabbed me by my arm and pulled me. Instantly, his bodyguards pounced on me, dragged me, and then pushed me. I fell face first on the stairs. Rahul Gandhi was the first to grab me. It is also clearly visible in the video.”

Recounting those exact, chaotic seconds in further detail, Parashar emphasized the forceful nature of the interaction and the immediate danger she found herself in near the Supreme Court steps. “I set my microphone, and all of a sudden, in just two seconds, everything happened. It is clearly visible in my video: Rahul Gandhi moves forward, and held my hand—and he pulled it. He pulled it, and I felt his power. He pulled, and in that same second, his guards pushed me. It is clearly visible in the videos on the internet… Look at my phone, it’s shattered. I was shouting, ‘Sir, I am being pushed. Sir, we are leaving. Please don’t push.’ I was requesting him, ‘Please don’t push, sir.’ And in two seconds, I was pushed. There were stairs at the Supreme Court; I fell on the stairs,”

The situation on the ground deteriorated as the crowd surged. Parashar, now on the ground, faced a terrifying pile-up of bodies that threatened her safety and the safety of her unborn child. “I was on my stomach and knees, and he fell over me. My phone broke. My receiver was on the floor. I even requested Rahul Gandhi not to do this, but he did and that too with a female journalist who was with her microphone and ID. How can the LOP act like a thug?”

The crush of the crowd intensified, leading to a severe lack of oxygen and mounting physical trauma. She detailed the terrifying moments while trapped under the weight of several individuals. “An Aaj Tak reporter also collapsed on me due to the commotion. Four to five people were on top of me. I was completely crushed. I felt suffocated. I protested about their behaviour, but the people who were actually goons surrounding Rahul Gandhi started to raise ‘Rahul Gandhi Zindabad’ slogans.”

Despite her attempts to alert the crowd to her fallen microphone and physical distress, her pleas were aggressively drowned out by political chanting. “So, I fell, the phone fell, but since the microphone was on my collar, it was recorded. I got up and was shouting, ‘My microphone has fallen,’ and his people were telling me, ‘Hey, where did you fall?’ I said, ‘It’s recorded on my camera. You cannot suppress a journalist. I was standing in a large crowd and could not breathe. After that, I was saying there that Rahul Gandhi pushed me. Rahul Gandhi pushed me, he was just behind me. And his people were shouting ‘Rahul Gandhi Zindabad, Rahul Gandhi Zindabad’ to suppress my voice,”

Instead of offering aid to a visibly injured woman, the surrounding supporters resorted to physical intimidation and verbal harassment. Parashar cataloged a grim list of injuries sustained during the melee. “I told them I would not be silenced. Instead of helping me, they started to thrash me, shout at me and deny that anything had happened to me. I departed from there crying. His supporters were perpetually mocking me, referring to me as ‘Godi media.’ I received multiple injuries, including to my foot, knee, neck, arm and arm. My ankle has been twisted.”

The profound lack of basic human decency from the crowd left a lasting psychological impact on the reporter, who was acutely aware of her vulnerable medical condition. “And I was shocked because I felt that as a person, there would be someone there who would ask, ‘Are you okay? Take some water, move to the side.’ Someone should have said, ‘Are you okay?’ But no one said anything. I could not process it; I was sitting and crying. I shouted on camera, and then I started sitting and crying because, as a woman in the first trimester of pregnancy, I didn’t know what the situation will be. I fell on my stomach,”

Following the traumatic events at the protest site, Parashar was transported to the emergency room at Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital for urgent medical evaluation. Initially hesitant to cause alarm, the severity of her condition forced her to disclose her pregnancy to medical staff, altering her course of treatment to ensure the safety of her child. “I didn’t even want to tell my organisation,” she noted, before explaining the critical turn of events at the clinic. “But when the pain in my stomach became unbearable, I had to tell the nurse. The moment they realised I was pregnant, they stopped the X-ray. I was rushed for an ultrasound,”

The physical ordeal was soon followed by intense digital harassment. Supporters of the political leader took to the internet to label her terrifying experience as "staged" and "political propaganda." Parashar forcefully rejected these baseless claims, maintaining that her sole priority was her health and her baby. She also clarified that her sister had only reached out for assistance regarding the steep costs associated with emergency medical care, a plea that online detractors subsequently misrepresented to attack her credibility. The victim expressed deep betrayal over the hypocrisy of those who claim to champion female empowerment while simultaneously attacking a working mother. “They talk about ‘smashing patriarchy,’ but they are saying that ‘If she was pregnant, why did she go to the crowd?’ I am a journalist, too, right? So, it is my job,”

Refusing to be intimidated by the violent mob or the subsequent online abuse, Parashar stood firm in her professional dedication. She framed her survival and continued outspokenness as a testament to the strength required of women in the media industry. “I am a journalist and I was doing my job. The whole country is standing with me. And those who don’t want to see it, have a blindfold on their eyes. I am speaking for all the female journalists out there who do reporting, face life problems, and manage their homes and families while still working and face this kind of apathy. I am a very powerful lady, and after this, my voice will become even louder. You cannot suppress a journalist,”

In her concluding remarks, the journalist directed a sharp critique at Rahul Gandhi, questioning the authenticity of his public commitment to women's rights and safety. She contrasted his political rhetoric against his actual behavior on the ground, calling for basic decency and accountability from someone aspiring to the highest office in the nation. “Does he have mental health issues? Does he harbour animosity toward women? He doesn’t even know who I am. I just want to ask him why he treated me this way. What did I do to provoke this? I only asked for a remark from him. They attack the government over women’s safety and rape cases. This is how he will smash patriarchy. Shame on you, Rahul Gandhi.”

She finished with a final, direct appeal for him to control his team and reflect on his actions, referencing past controversies. “I am not expecting anything from you, but at least show some humanity. Not just with me, but if your team does something wrong with anyone—like the video of Rahul Gandhi pushing the female police officer in an inappropriate way—please stop all this because the prime minister candidate of this country cannot do such things.”