New Delhi/Lucknow: Three journalists have been arrested in different cases for allegedly trying to malign Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Uttar Pradesh arrested a Delhi-based journalist on Saturday for allegedly sharing an objectionable post on Adityanath on social media. Also on Saturday evening, the head of a private television news channel and its editor were arrested in Noida for allegedly airing defamatory content on Yogi Adityanath, the police said.
Prashant Kanojia, a freelance journalist, was arrested after a complaint by a police officer in Lucknow, alleging he tried to “malign” the chief minister’s image, NDTV said in a report with PTI inputs.
A video Kanojia shared on Twitter and Facebook shows a woman speaking to reporters of various media organisations outside Yogi Adityanath’s office, claiming she had sent him a marriage proposal.
Kanojia was arrested under Section 67 of the Information Act and has been charged with criminal defamation and making statements conducing to public mischief.
Kanojia’s verified Twitter handle said he is an alumnus of Indian Institute of Mass Communication and Mumbai University and has been associated with several media organisations.
He was picked up by the police from his home in Delhi’s West Vinod Nagar on Saturday afternoon and taken to Lucknow where he was formally arrested.
“…arrest is abuse of law,” The Wire’s founding editor Siddharth Varadarajan tweeted. Kanojia has worked with The Wire in the past.
In the other case, the head of Nation Live, a private television news channel, and its editor were arrested in Noida on Saturday. During a debate on the channel on June 6, the woman, whose video was shared by Kanojia, had allegedly made defamatory statements against Adityanath, the police said.
Ishika Singh, who heads the channel and Anuj Shukla, its editor, were arrested after workers of a political party approached the police with a complaint, a senior official said.
During investigation, it was also found that the channel did not have any licence to operate.
