Dubai: The arrests of a freelance journalist and the owner and editor of a television channel has led to an outcry on social media in India.
Journalist Prashant Kanojia was picked up by Uttar Pradesh police on Saturday from his house in New Delhi after he tweeted a video of a woman claiming to have a relationship with UP’s Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. According to media reports, on the same night Ishika Singh, who heads private news channel Nation Live, and Anuj Shukla, its editor were also arrested. Their television channel had hosted the same woman on a televised debate in which she allegedly made defamatory remarks against the chief minister.
According to a report by news channel NDTV, police officer Vaibhav Krishna reacted to the complaints the police received from political party workers and said: “This could have led to a possible law and order situation.”
Online, several social media users spoke out against the arrests, using the hashtags FreePrashantNow and #ReleasePrashantKanojia.
In a series of tweets, journalist @svaradarajan wrote: “UP police says @PJkanojia has been arrested under Sec 67 of IT Act (though there was nothing remotely ‘obscene’ or ‘lascivious’ in his posts on @myogiadityanath), Sec 505 of IPC (Read 505 to see how laughable this charge is … As for Sec 500 IPC, criminal defamation, this is a bailable offence. The fact that cops sent @pjkanojia to jail till Monday so he will have to move the courts to come out proves the idea is to intimidate and gag not just the media but the wider public #ReleasePrashantKanojia. Now consider danger of @uppolice using IPC 500 (criminal defamation). If the ‘crime’ is to be pursued by cops without @myogiadityanath filing complaint like an ordinary citizen and you can be whisked away, then it’s farewell to free speech in UP & India #ReleasePrashantKanojia”
The Editor’s Guild of India also condemned the arrests.
Tweep @banojyotsna wrote: “Arrests of freelance journalists like Prashant Kanojia on trumped-up charges is why India has dropped further on a global press freedom index for the past few years, ranking 140th out of 180 countries right now. #FreePrashantNow”
