Raipur: Chhattisgarh police have booked a local journalist for posting cartoons on social media against the state government and judiciary.
Kamal Shukla, a local journalist from the Bastar region, has been vocal against fake encounters of the eastern Indian state. Known in the region as a tribal rights activist, he writes for some local publishing houses.
The case against Shukla was registered on April 29 at Katwali police station in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district under the section 124-A of the Indian Penal Code. The case was apparently filed after a resident of Rajasthan filed a complaint against Shukla’s Facebook post.
“The case was handed over by the cybercrime cell in Raipur. We will take necessary action after the investigation.” K L Dhruv, the Police Superintendent at Kanker, told media persons.
Shukla heads an organization dedicated to providing protection to the journalists who have been working in the Bastar region. He also edits a local outlet named Bhumkal Samachar.
In his post after the lawsuit, Shukla wrote, “No bail yet in the cases registered under (IG) Kalluri’s regime, now this sedition case against me. Anyway, my movement will not stop.”
S R P Kalluri is the Inspector General of Police for the Bastar Range in South Chhattisgarh.
The journalist has also claimed that the state government is targeting him as it does not want Shukla to reveal their secrets just before the assembly elections in the state.
The cartoon which Shukla uploaded was about the mysterious death of Justice B H Loya.
Counting Shukla, more than ten journalists have been booked under sedition charges in Chhattisgarh in the past few years.
Moreover, the state administration and police bodies – especially under the leadership of IG Kalluri – have also been reportedly abusive and suppressive to the journalists working in the conflict zones of the state.
(Source: twocirlces.net)