Congress leader Arun Yadav slams detention of two journalists from Madhya Pradesh over publication of 'fake news'

Bhopal: Former Union minister and senior Congress leader Arun Yadav has criticised the Rajasthan police's detention of two journalists from Madhya Pradesh over alleged publication of fake news, calling it an "attack on democracy".

The Rajasthan police on Friday detained Anand Pandey and Harish Divekar from Bhopal for allegedly publishing a series of fake and defamatory reports against Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari on their news portal, 'The Sutra', last month and for demanding Rs 5 crore for their removal.

The complainant claimed that the duo contacted acquaintances of the deputy chief minister, demanding several crores of rupees to delete the false reports and to refrain from publishing such content in the future.

They also allegedly threatened to damage her political and social image if the demand was not met, Jaipur police said in a statement.

Congress leader Yadav, in a post on X, said, "When journalists who tell the truth are in jail while those who spread lies roam free, then understand that democracy is in danger." He claimed that the detention of Pandey and Divekar was a "direct attack on democracy".

"The Sutra's tagline 'we fear only god' scares the BJP government the most, because true journalists do not compromise with power," he wrote in the post.

According to the Rajasthan police, the same misleading content was also circulated on another affiliated web portal called 'The Capital'.

Technical examination and witness statements confirmed that the reports were not fact-based.

Based on the evidence collected, Pandey and Divekar were detained from Bhopal on Friday and were brought to Jaipur for further questioning.