Ludhiana: Punjab Police arrested Bhavana Kishore, a female reporter of Times Now, along with video journalist Mritunjay Kumar and driver Parminder, and detained them for hours after their car was involved in an accident.
Bhavana, assigned to cover the inauguration of Mohalla Clinics by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Friday, was on way to the venue when the car hit a woman.
According to police, the complainant was also en route to the Mohalla Clinic inauguration. Cops arrested Bhavana and the others for rash driving and hurling casteist abuses at the complainant.
Times Now claimed that Bhavana was taken away in a car by a male cop before a ‘flimsy FIR’ was filed against them in Ludhiana’s Section 3 Division Police Station, and they were wrongly implicated in an SC-ST case by Ludhiana police. She allegedly wasn’t even behind the wheels at the time of the incident.
Times Now has been running ‘Operation Sheesh Mahal’ for a fortnight, in which Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has been accused of spending crores to build and renovate his luxurious residence.
The news channel has demanded the release of Bhavana, crying serious intimidation of the media.
Many are questioning whether this is AAP’s way of getting back at Times Now.
BJP leader Tajinder Bagga tweeted: “Last year on 6th may @PunjabPoliceInd kidnapped me on the instructions of @ArvindKejriwal. Today on 5th may Punjab Police kidnapped @TimesNow woman reporter Bhavna Kishore for exposing Kejriwal Sheesh Mahal. Punjab Police failed to stop drugs in Punjab but dancing on instructions of Kejriwal.”
Union minister Smriti Irani spoke out in favour of the female reporter also.
“You cannot pick and choose whose freedom you will defend. It is not about the gender of the journalist. It is the misuse of the instrument of law to subjugate a political cause. It is shocking for the entire country. Everyone who reports within the ethical boundaries of the law needs support. If a female reporter it intimidated, it is an indication of a complete breakdown of the constitutional framework,” said the Minister of Women and Child Development.
AAP leader Atishi, on the other hand, called for strict action against Bhavana.
