Kerala Police raids Asianet News channel's office, sparks political row
The Kochi Police on Sunday allegedly raided the Asianet News channel office in Kozhikode, Kerala, in connection with an alleged "fake news" case. The action came two days after student wing members of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPIM) reportedly protested against the channel over a 2022 news report. Meanwhile, opposition parties slammed the state government and CM Pinarayi Vijayan over the action.
Why does this story matter?
The move comes as Kerala's Left Democratic Front (LDF) administration is already under fire for numerous policies—the latest being an order to employees to not criticize the government on social media. Notably, Asianet News is a prominent channel and a vocal critic of the government on various subjects. It also accused the government of colluding with Swapna Suresh—the accused in the gold smuggling racket.
Police raid Asianet News office following legislator's complaint
The police on Sunday raided the Asianet News office in Kozhikode in connection with a case related to an allegedly fake news story. Reportedly, it was filed based on legislator PV Anwar's complaint. Anwar raised the issue in the Assembly, too, following which CM Vijayan promised action. Earlier, on Friday, members of the Students' Federation of India (SFI) allegedly forcibly entered the channel's office.
Attempts to intimidate channel will not succeed: Asianet spokesperson
According to the news channel, the police allegedly checked computers and collected the addresses and phone numbers of its employees. It also said that the work was disrupted for some time but added that they were fully cooperating with the police. "Attempts to intimidate the channel will not succeed and it will approach the court against the police move," the channel's spokesperson said.
Opposition slams Pinarayi Vijayan-led government over raids
Meanwhile, opposition parties have condemned the police action on Asianet, terming it an attempt to gag media. "The party always talks big about media freedom and condemned the raid on BBC last week in the strongest terms. But this is worse than the BBC raid. Pinarayi Vijayan has turned another [Narendra Modi] by silencing his critics," said Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, attacking the government.
Union Minister and BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar slams Kerala CM
SFI members booked for storming Asianet office on Friday
According to reports, a number of SFI activists allegedly forced their way into the Asianet News office in Kozhikode on Friday and threatened the staff over the aforementioned news story. Based on a complaint filed by the TV channel, a case was later filed against around 30 SFI activists. The Press Club of India also called on the Kerala government to investigate the event.
