Journalist Faye Elvira D’Souza has amplified Mathrubhumi English’s concerns after Instagram blocked its video showing a young woman resisting police detention during a CJP-led protest in Delhi, drawing further attention to the restriction.

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D’Souza shared a post highlighting that the video, filmed by Mathrubhumi English’s reporting team, had been blocked in India. This came after Mathrubhumi raised concerns over the restriction, with Instagram citing Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act.

Describing the footage, D’Souza said it showed a teenager attempting to shield her friend from detention before clinging to a lighting pole as three police personnel tried to detain her.

The protest was organised by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

D’Souza’s post drew reactions from users questioning why the video had been removed and expressing concern over access to footage of the protest.

"I saw this video; it is very heartbreaking. Not sure why it's been removed. People should know what is happening in our nation (sic)," one user commented.

"They keep proving it with each tactic," another wrote.

A third user questioned Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg, commenting, "Lol, where is Zuckerberg hiding now?"

The reactions reflect concerns expressed by some users over the restriction and the removal of footage documenting events on the ground.

Other prominent journalists too echoed the sentiment.

“This is a blatant act of censorship, one that is of a piece with the government’s crackdown on freedom of the press. The fact that a news report highlighting police violence has been censored highlights the close connection between press freedom and wider democratic rights,” said Siddharth Varadarajan.

“We are going through some of the most dreadful times in independent India's history. The state violence being unleashed not just on the protesters but even the media doing its duty to report seems to surpass even what happened during the Emergency. These are telltale signs of a cowardly regime and its possible collapse in the near future,” noted M.G. Radhakrishnan.

What does the blocked video show?

The 50-second video was filmed by Mathrubhumi English’s team while covering the CJP-led protest in Delhi on October 11.

It shows a young woman trying to shield her friend as police move to detain her. After that attempt fails, she clings to a lighting pole to resist detention before three women police personnel overpower her.

Instagram cited Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act when restricting access to the video in India.

Mathrubhumi has said it has not received confirmation of whether the restriction followed a request from the Delhi Police or the Union government.