The Editors Guild of India (EGI) has demanded a court-monitored inquiry into the allegation that an Agra-based journalist, Gaurav Bansal, was tortured by the police in Uttar Pradesh.
The journalist, who works with a Hindi newspaper, was arrested on March 15 for allegedly obstructing a government officer from discharging his duty.
As alleged, he went to a counting centre on March 8 along with some persons and created nuisance by spreading rumour that the electronic voting machines were being replaced. He also misbehaved with government officials, according to the police
Demanding his release, the EGI said it was shocked by the manner in which the journalist was arrested and allegedly tortured for “reporting about electoral malpractices in the recent Assembly elections”.
“While on one hand the journalist’s lawyer has alleged that ‘he was given third degree torture and humiliated by police officers’, the police on the other hand have charged him under penal laws for obstructing a government officer from discharging his duty,” said the EGI statement on Monday.
The journalist’s lawyer alleged that he was tortured after arrest, while the police have denied the allegation.
Use of penal laws
The Guild said it was “deeply concerned that penal laws are ever so often used as tools to harass and intimidate journalists from freely reporting on sensitive issues”.
The EGI demanded that the journalist be treated fairly by the State administration. It also urged the State government to ensure that the rights of media were protected and journalists were not harassed for doing their job fearlessly.
On Saturday, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had shared a video clip through his Twitter handle, showing the journalist trembling at a police station. He accused the State government of trying to suppress the voice of journalists and sought a judicial inquiry into the matter.
