Ahmedabad protests sedition charges on TOI
The police commissioner’s move came after a series of documented investigative reports questioned his competence to guarantee the security of the citizens of Ahmedabad.
By TNN |
AHMEDABAD: In a show of solidarity, city journalists staged a protest outside the Ahmedabad police commissioner���s office after the newly-appointed city police commissioner, OP Mathur, filed a complaint of sedition and conspiracy against The Times of India, the editor of its Ahmedabad edition, a correspondent and a photographer.
The police commissioner���s move came after a series of documented investigative reports questioned his competence to guarantee the security of the citizens of Ahmedabad, the city which figures high on terrorists��� hit list.
The memorandum was signed not just by journalists, but even by several passersby who came forward to express their support. The memorandum , seeking withdrawal of all charges against TOI, will be submitted to state police authorities.
���All the news reports published by TOI can in no way be termed as sedition and neither was any attempt made to obstruct any officer from performing his duty,��� the memorandum states.
The news reports, based on court documents, said that the police officer had links with gangsters who ran bootlegging business in the city a decade ago. Mr Mathur drew flak from several quarters on Monday as cops watched demonstrators grew in numbers right in front of the police commissioner���s office in Shahibaug.
Traffic drew to a standstill as mediapersons with representatives of voluntary organisations and some human rights groups took the fight to the police bastion. A poster read, ���government guns guarding goonda raj���.
The police commissioner���s move came after a series of documented investigative reports questioned his competence to guarantee the security of the citizens of Ahmedabad, the city which figures high on terrorists��� hit list.
The memorandum was signed not just by journalists, but even by several passersby who came forward to express their support. The memorandum , seeking withdrawal of all charges against TOI, will be submitted to state police authorities.
���All the news reports published by TOI can in no way be termed as sedition and neither was any attempt made to obstruct any officer from performing his duty,��� the memorandum states.
The news reports, based on court documents, said that the police officer had links with gangsters who ran bootlegging business in the city a decade ago. Mr Mathur drew flak from several quarters on Monday as cops watched demonstrators grew in numbers right in front of the police commissioner���s office in Shahibaug.
Traffic drew to a standstill as mediapersons with representatives of voluntary organisations and some human rights groups took the fight to the police bastion. A poster read, ���government guns guarding goonda raj���.
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On Monday, unlike other times, when reporters walk freely into the commissionerate, there were strict instructions at the gate to not let any mediaperson inside. ���This is an attack on the freedom of the press,��� said Sheba George, a human rights activist. Download
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