Arrested Urdu newspaper vendors granted bail

Mumbai: Two newspaper vendors who were arrested by Mumbai Police for distributing the Urdu newspaper ‘Avadhnama’, which had reprinted the controversial Charlie Hebdo cartoon on its front page were on Thursday afternoon granted bail by a city court.

The vendors, against whom a case was registered by the J.J. Marg police station two days ago, were arrested on Wednesday night after a complaint by a member of a mosque in south Mumbai, Riyaz Chale.

They were booked under Section 295 of the Indian Penal Code (which pertains to “outraging religious sentiments with malicious intent”) for supplying the newspaper with the controversial content.

The vendors were granted bail on a surety amount of Rs7,000 (Dh416) by the Metropolitan Magistrate’s court which refused police custody of the vendors and questioned the investigating officer, “How can you pick someone and put them in jail?”

The January 17 issue of the Urdu daily Avadhnama carried a photo of the cover of the French magazine Charlie Hebdo with the controversial cartoon of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) which led to the arrest of its editor Shirin Dalvi following a spate of complaints. She was arrested by Mumbai police in neighbouring Thane district and later released on bail.

The Sessions Court on Wednesday extended her bail until February 10 giving her interim protection. She too was booked under Section 295 of the IPC.

Meanwhile, the Brihanmumbai Union of Journalists (BUJ) and the Mumbai Press Club have condemned the threats against Dalvi in spite of her tendering an apology. The Press Club stated, “The slander being spread against Ms Dalvi in sections of the Urdu press as well as on social media have made it difficult for her to live at home.”

Since January 17, Dalvi, who is a single parent, and her two college-going children have been staying with friends, the latter have not been able to attend college.

The Mumbai edition of Avadhnama has been closed down, rendering Ms Dalvi and the entire staff of the daily jobless, the Press Club said.

M.J. Pandey, general secretary, BUJ, said: “The BUJ believes that freedom of the press is a very important part of democracy and must be nurtured with great care and responsibility. Journalists must be in the forefront of upholding freedom of expression.” The BUJ has urged the complainants in this case accept the apology in the right spirit and to desist from following up with criminal cases.