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- INDIA
Social media is outraged over the criminal charges filed by the Uttar Pradesh (UP) police against journalists for reporting that a July 4 death of a young man in the Shamli district was due to mob lynching.
“No journalist should be prosecuted for reporting news. The filing of FIRs against journos and activists, instead of prosecuting those responsible for an alleged hate crime, seems to be a misuse of law,” Sujata Madhok president, Delhi Union of Journalists, told The Citizen.
Madhok asked for the FIR against the journalists to be quashed, adding that the question of murder/mob lynching needs an impartial investigation and prosecution.
Senior advocate Indira Jaising in her post on X, called the police action a clear violation of Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution of India. “What is the point of swearing by the Constitution and then misusing the new criminal laws?” Jaisingh asked.
Independent media organisations continue to spit fire at the FIR filed by the police against journalists. The condemnation by media bodies highlights concerns over press freedom and the misuse of criminal laws against journalists in India. The call for the withdrawal of the FIR reflects a broader demand for protecting the rights of journalists and ensuring the freedom of the press.
Low Press Freedom Index Rank
At a time when India ranked 159 out of 180 countries in the latest World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders, the UP police is trying to criminalise journalists for doing their job.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on the police in UP to drop their investigation into a claim that independent journalists Zakir Ali Tyagi and Wasim Akram Tyagi incited religious enmity through “malicious” posts on social media platform X alleging that a Muslim resident of Shamli district was killed in a July 4 mob lynching.
“The criminal investigation against journalists Zakir Ali Tyagi and Wasim Akram Tyagi for highlighting potential police misconduct and sectarian tensions are an alarming misuse of the legal system,” said CPJ India Representative Kunal Majumder, adding that “The authorities should drop this investigation and focus on addressing the issues raised by these journalists rather than punishing them for their work.”
The digital media organisation DIGIPUB, a coalition of 90 digital media outlets and journalists has asked for the immediate withdrawal of the FIR against journalists sharing public information in public interest. In a public statement, DIGIPUB called the act of the UP police a grave overreach and misuse of criminal laws and an assault on press freedom that has a chilling effect.
In a joint statement, several media organisations assert that reporting publicly available information, irrespective of the medium of the message, qualifies as bonafide journalism. Such arbitrary application amounts to the intimidation of journalists and is a direct violation of Article 19(1)A of the Constitution. “We unequivocally demand the withdrawal of the FIR against the two journalists,” they stated.
A criminal case against five individuals was filed by the UP police last Saturday for using social media to post information about the death of Firoz, a scrap collector in the Shamli district as a case of mob lynching. The police deny that the deceased was mob lynched to death.
The incident occurred on July 4 and the police filed the FIR on July 6, following a social media post by Tyagi on July 5, which claimed that a Muslim man had died after being lynched by a mob. Tyagi’s post also named the individuals who had allegedly beaten the man, a scrap worker.
Reports indicate that the post included a picture of the deceased and the complaint filed by the dead man’s family, who alleged that he had been beaten to death by a group of men.
A Bull On The Roof
Meanwhile, another police station in UP’s Rae Bareli district in Salon was faced with a brouhaha of another kind.n A video gone viral showed a stray bull parked on the roof of the police station. How it got there remains a mystery?
The incident reminded citizens of another bull that had made its way into a district hospital in Rae Bareli a while ago. The bull had stood in the middle of a room full of patients, till it decided to leave after having deposited some bull shit around.
According to a Central Government data, UP is a leader among the states with the highest number of people killed by stray animals in the country.
Azad In Hathras
When Azad Samaj Party-Kanshi Ram, chief Chandra Shekhar Azad visited Hathras last Monday, he stood in front of the people with folded hands. The Dalit leader begged the people to send their children to school and to encourage them to think scientifically instead.
He pleaded with the women not to waste their time and energy on godmen like Bhole Baba, responsible for the July 2 stampede in Hathras where more than 100 devotees were crushed to death, mostly women and children.
Women in UP already face grave atrocities including rape and murder. The state is known for the highest number of cases of violence against women as well as the highest number of cases of sexual assault against Dalit girls.
Dalit women bear the brunt of violence against them by members of the upper caste as well as men from their own family. Following a godman of their own caste and participating in religious congregations is an only outlet from the throttling life led by most Dalit women.
A first-time member of the Lok Sabha, Azad wants strict action against all those responsible for the religious gathering. Azad holds Bhole Baba, who is also a Dalit, responsible for the July stampede along with the district police, administration and the government.
Azad has asked the government to increase the compensation to families of the 121 dead in the stampede to Rs 25 lakh, and Rs one crore to be paid to each family by the godman who Azad said is not a poor man.
While in Hathras, Azad met patients in the hospital and requested the doctors to take good care of the victims.
Bhole Baba, a former policeman, has a large Dalit following in the vicinity of Etah, Hathras, Bulandshahr, Aligarh and the Khurja districts of UP. His countless devotees also reside in parts of the neighbouring states of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. He is revered for ‘helping devotees get rid of ailments like migraine and hopelessness’.
