The Mumbai Police on Tuesday detained a freelance journalist for allegedly instigating the crowd during a slum demolition drive in the city’s Santacruz area. The police told Scroll.in that they had detained Priyanka Borpujari in the “capacity of an activist” as she was “instigating the crowd”.

“She instigated the slum-dwellers to obstruct the demolition process,” senior police inspector Kalpana Gadekar told Scroll.in. After she instigated them, one woman bit a woman constable.”

The incident came to light after journalists from The Hindu, a paper she regularly contributes to, wrote on Twitter that they were unable to contact her.

“One of our journalists assaulted by cops while filming slum demolitions near Grand Hyatt,” The Hindu’s Deputy Editor in Mumbai, Peter Griffin, wrote in a series of tweets. “Cop wanted to confiscate her phone, not allowing her to make phone calls. Now she’s not answering her phone.”

Another colleague, Gautam S Mengle, wrote: “Assaulted and taken to Vakola police station while she was taking pictures of slum demolition in Kalina.” Mengle added that they were unable to reach her phone.

Griffin said that Borpujari had called him while she was being taken to the police station. He tagged the Mumbai police commissioner and the Mumbai police in his tweet, prompting a response from them.

“Mumbai Police Twitter desk has told me she is safe [and is] being questioned,” Griffin wrote. He said that he had spoken to a senior police officer, who told him Borpujari was not carrying a press ID and that she instigated the crowd to raise slogans.

“She has been detained as an activist in a crow(d) that was getting violent,” Griffin added. “Am sure the cops will do their job and ascertain details on that. Important things is she is safe...waiting to hear from her.”

Later in the day, both Griffin and Mengle tweeted to say they had spoken to Borpujari, and that she told them she was safe.

“Priyanka told me her hair was pulled repeatedly, that she was restrained by a cop, that she has a bruise on her neck that hurts, but does not remember how she might have got that. She also absolutely denies that she instigated anyone,” Griffin said.

Senior police inspector Gadekar said FIRs were filed against five women, including Borpujari. “The women are allowed to go home. We will pursue the matter in court.”