A group of angry women has stationed itself at the gates of Bisada, seemingly permanently, to stop the media from entering the village in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh, where 52-year-old Mohd Akhlaq Saifee was lynched last week by a 100-strong mob over rumours of cow slaughter.
Last Saturday, they stopped the NDTV team, beat up the camera person and threw stones at our car from all directions. Our fault, we had taken a camera inside to cover the Delhi Chief Minister's visit to the village - the women blamed the media for most young men in the village going into hiding to escape the police.
They have continued to enforce their "no cameras" rule as Bisada boils with tension a week after Akhlaq was killed.
At the exact spot that we were attacked on Saturday, about 200 metres beyond the village gate, reporters were stopped on Monday by the women. Some men from the village then searched the male journalists - two TV reporters were asked to take off their shirts so that the shirt buttons could be examined for hidden cameras.
Others had to roll down down their shirt sleeves. Most TV reporters were not allowed into the village beyond the point where the searches were being conducted. Some intrepid newspaper journalists did manage to make their way up to meet the village chief, who said they would be protected as long as their questions were "acceptable." And they were made to switch off their mobile phones while they were in the village.
In this Rajput-dominated village of Bisada there are only 45 Muslim families. A colleague who managed to go into the village with the help of the village chief, said he met a Muslim family, whose daughter's wedding had been stalled due to the unrest in the village after the mob killing and the arrest of 10 men.
With the village chief present, the father of the bride told my colleague that he has been assured by the Rajputs in the village that his daughter's wedding will be held next weekend. He also said he felt no fear living in the village.
Most of us who have covered the story since Akhlaq was killed, agree that the hostility of the villagers for journalists has only increased over the last few days.
The journalists, however, return every morning to the village to do their job, despite most being stopped at the gates. It is tougher for a few of us, who have by now been identified as "media waale (from the media)" by some of the villagers. We have been chased, abused and stoned.
It is strange though that the villagers consider us a bigger threat than politicians who have kept the tension alive in Bisada with their controversial comments.
(Tanima Biswas is an Associate Editor at NDTV 24x7)Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.