Police treating journalist's mysterious death in cavalier manner: Editor's Guild
Editors Guild of India (EGI) on Monday accused Uttar Pradesh Police of passing off TV journalist Sulabh Srivastava's death as being caused by an accident in Pratapgarh, claiming that they did not pay any heed even though he had informed them about the danger to his life. It said, "Shocked by the cavalier manner in which police is treating the mysterious death of Srivastava."
He had recently run a story about the liquor mafia
According to the police, the journalist died on Sunday after his motorcycle rammed into a pole in Pratapgarh. He was returning from Ashrahi village under the Lalganj Police Station area when the incident took place. He had recently run a story about the liquor mafia.
He had written to police claiming threat to his life
The guild said that the journalist, who was threatened by the liquor mafia for exposing their wrongdoings, had recently written a letter to the police expressing grave apprehensions for his life. "He believed that some people were following him. The authorities paid no heed to his fears. Srivastava died a couple of days after writing the letter to the police," the guild said.
Central, state governments pressuring media in view of pandemic: EGI
"The police is passing off his death as being caused by an accident, claiming that his bike rammed into a handpump," the guild charged. The guild said the journalist's death comes at a time when media is facing increasing pressures from the central and the state governments who insist that they follow the official narrative regarding the administration's handling of the pandemic.
'Social media platforms pressured to remove journalists critical of government'
The guild alleged that journalists and cartoonists critical of the government are being targeted on social media as pressures are being mounted by the government on these platforms to remove them on the specious ground that they are violating the law of the land.
Authorities unjustifiably using laws to charge and arrest journalists: EGI
"What is further worrying is that the police and the local authorities liberally and unjustifiably use laws such as sedition and the UAPA to file charges and arrest journalists," the editors' body charged. "This is against the spirit of the judgment given by the Supreme Court in Kedar Nath Singh case and reiterated in the recent sedition case against Vinod Dua," the EGI said.
This is contrary to PM's commitment at G7 summit: Guild
"All of this is contrary to the commitments that Prime Minister Narendra Modi made at the G7 summit to democracy, openness, and against authoritarianism," the EGI said. Notably, the Prime Minister had said that India is a natural ally of the G7 (Group of Seven) in defending democratic values from the threats of authoritarianism, terrorism, disinformation, and economic coercion.
