Rohit Ranjan, Zee News anchor, went “absconding” after being released on bail by the Noida police, which arrested him on Tuesday in connection with the airing of a video twisting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's remarks. Ranjan is wanted by the Chhattisgarh police for a case registered against him in Raipur for the same reason.
According to sources in the police department here, a team of cops from Raipur went Ranjan's home in Ghaziabad on Wednesday morning to arrest him, but it was locked from the outside. A senior police official in Noida said Ranjan was brought in for questioning on Tuesday but was released on bail later in the night because the sections under which he was charged were bailable.
Sources said that the Chhattisgarh police were trying to “trace” Ranjan, and were likely to visit the Zee News offices on Thursday. According to sources, Ranjan, who was booked under more stringent sections of the Indian Penal Code, could approach the Supreme Court seeking relief from arrest.
The Noida police had taken Ranjan into custody, while Ghaziabad and Chhattisgarh police practically got in a scuffle when the latter tried to arrest the TV news anchor on Tuesday.
The face-off between the Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh police forces garnered political concern: Bahujan Samajwadi Party supremo Mayawati said on Wednesday that the two-state governments must ensure the rule of the law. Meanwhile, Congress slammed the UP police for intervening in the matter and accused the state government of trying to shield the anchor.
Cases were lodged against Ranjan in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, both Congress-ruled states, for airing the misleading video twisting the remarks of Rahul.
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