Bind
The Supreme Court has sought a response from the Madhya Pradesh government on the petition of two Bhind journalists. These journalists have alleged that they were assaulted in the police station due to reporting on the sand mafia.
A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Satish Chandra Sharma agreed to hear the petition of journalists Shashikant Goyal and Amarkant Singh Chauhan and issued a notice to the Madhya Pradesh government seeking a reply.
The lawyer appearing on behalf of the petitioners requested the court to provide interim protection to the petitioners from arrest. To this, the court said, “The other party should be given an opportunity to answer. Let the state also submit facts.” The court has issued a notice on the petition. Now the case will be heard on 9 June.
On May 28, the Delhi High Court provided security to Amarkant Singh Chauhan. Journalist Chauhan had claimed that he was beaten up in the office of Bhind’s Superintendent of Police (SP) and now his life is in danger.
The High Court had directed Delhi Police to provide security for two months to Amarkant Singh Chauhan, a resident of Madhya Pradesh and Bhind Bureau of a news channel.
Let me tell you that last month, three journalists of Bhind district alleged that on May 1, he was assaulted or misbehaved in the office of the Superintendent of Police. However, SP Asit Yadav has denied these allegations.
YouTube channel operator Pritam Singh Rajawat, news portal operator Shashikant Goyal and Amarkant Singh Chauhan working for the news channel said in a complaint to the District Collector that he was beaten up on 1 May.
Dalit journalist is beaten with casteist abuses, slippers
The victim journalist Shashikant Goyal said that he was called to the office of SP Dr. Asit Yadav on 1 May. On reaching there, SI Girish Sharma and Satyabir Singh asked their names. When he called his name “Shashikant Goyal Jatav”, the two policemen started hitting the cheeks with slippers.
“I asked why are you killing, what is my fault? So got the answer – you have started writing a lot against the police.” – Shashikant said
Shashikant told that he was forcibly asked to say “ji sir”. When he questioned what is the difference between “Sir Ji” and “G Sir”, he was again beaten and caste -up abuses. The entire incident occurred in the presence of SP Asit Yadav.
Eight journalists targeted
According to the information related to the case, about eight journalists were called and beaten by policemen in the SP office. The ‘crime’ of all these was that they were constantly reporting on the connivance of the sand mafia and police active in the district.
The second victim journalist Amarkant Chauhan has also confirmed the barbarity of the policemen. Both journalists said that now they have run to Delhi to save their lives and reached the Supreme Court.
Press Club of India condemns
The Press Club of India has strongly condemned the incident and demanded to ensure the safety of journalists. The petitioners’ counsel told the court that the aggrieved journalists are working in very limited resources and now they are expecting justice from the Supreme Court.
During the hearing, Justice Satish Chandra Sharma made important remarks and said – “Should we consider cases of anticipatory bail across the country just because it includes a journalist?”
At the same time, the petitioner’s counsel argued that the case is more serious than a common anticipatory bail petition. In this, the state machinery is trying to suppress the fourth pillar of democracy.
