Even as the back-to-back instances of the police registering cases against journalists reporting protests against the government sparked widespread criticism, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan defended the police action.
Vijayan claimed that there are 'conspirators' among journalists, and as a consequence, they would have to face police action.
In the latest instance, a female journalist from a Malayalam television news channel has been implicated in a case related to the throwing of shoes at the Chief Minister's vehicle. Vineetha V G of TwentyFour News was named as the fifth accused. The other accused in the case are activists of the Kerala Students' Union, the student-wing of the Congress. The incident occurred when a shoe was thrown at the luxury bus in which the Chief Minister and ministers were traveling as part of the mass outreach programme 'Nava Kerala Sadas' near Perumbavoor on the outskirts of Kochi on December 10.
In another incident, a case was registered against four media persons who captured video footage of Mahila Morcha activists entering the residence of the Kerala state police chief during a recent protest march. No specific individuals were named in the case.
Addressing questions on this matter during a press conference, the Chief Minister stated that journalists should focus on reporting and "not engage in conspiracies". He added, "There are conspirators among journalists. Such persons will have to face action. If they did not indulge in a conspiracy, they can prove it."
The Kerala Union of Working Journalists strongly criticised the police actions and urged them to withdraw the cases against journalists.
In a previous incident, a female journalist from a Malayalam news channel was implicated in a conspiracy case in June related to a report on the alleged declaration of a pro-CPM student leader passing exams at a college in Kochi, despite not attending the exams. However, the police later dropped the case, citing a lack of evidence.
Published 23 December 2023, 09:13 IST