The FIR was filed for a story by the editor of Scroll, Supriya Sharma
New Delhi:
Journalists and media monitoring organizations gathered around an editor for the Scroll news site after Uttar Pradesh police first filed an information report or FIR against them.
The FIR was filed for a story by Scroll editor Supriya Sharma over a village adopted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency where residents complained about the scarcity of food.
The FIR appoints Ms. Sharma and the “senior editor” of Scroll.
“Opening a criminal investigation into a journalist for her work in the Prime Minister’s parliamentary constituency is a clear bullying tactic and sends a frightening message to journalists across the country,” said the Committee to Protect Journalists, an organization world press freedom monitoring agency.
Reporters Without Borders, another press freedom organization, called the FIR “an attempt to intimidate one of India’s toughest reporters”.
Former Supreme Court Justice Madan Lokur told GalacticGaming that “(FIR) is very unhappy.” “Freedom of the press, freedom of speech and expression are under threat,” he said.
Police filed the FIR after a woman cited in the Scroll article said she and her family were having trouble eating.
In the FIR, the woman, Mala Devi, denied having said such a thing and also accused the journalist of making fun of her poverty and her caste. The police have laid charges under provisions of the law that do not allow bail and defamation.
The FIR also imposes articles 269 of the Indian Penal Code, which penalize actions “likely to spread the infection of a disease dangerous to life”.
In a statement, Scroll said it stood by the story and that the FIR was an attempt to silence independent journalism.
