Andhra journos revolt against arrest of 3 colleagues

FREE PRESS MOVEMENT: Journalists in Hyderabad march against the arrest of three comrades.

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Keywords: Y S Rajashekhar Reddy, Andhra Jyothi

Hyderabad: Journalists in Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday held demonstrations across the state to protest against the arrest of three colleagues.

The police on Tuesday arrested K Srinivas, the editor of Telugu newspaper Andhra Jyothi, and journalists Vamsi and Srinivas of the daily for allegedly insulting a Dalit leader for his caste.

A Dalit party called the Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi (MRPS) has filed a police complaint against the journalists, accusing them of insulting its leader and burning his effigy.

MRPS members had attacked the newspaper’s office on May 26 to protest against its report which accused unnamed Dalit leaders and their organisations for their "blackmailing tactics".

The Andhra Pradesh Union of Working Journalists (APUWJ) accused the state government of favouring the MRPS and on Wednesday organised rallies, sit-ins and marches across the state in support of the arrested Andhra Jyothi journalists.

Journalists in Hyderabad heckled Home Minister and Information Minister A Ramanarayana Reddy at the Secretariat when he tried to brief them on the arrests.

Journalists asked him to arrest MRPS leader M Krishna Madiga for allegedly threatening to attack media organisations. Raising slogans of "we want justice" and "save press freedom", they alleged the police had away the journalists from their office "as if they were criminals".

Reddy claimed the journalists had been arrested after due legal process. "We are ready to order CID inquiry to look into whether there were any lapses in the way the investigation was done. A high-level officer will review the case and if necessary, we will take action against the investigating officer," he said.

"The police have acted on the basis of the merits of the case. After gathering evidence on the basis of a complaint by MRPS, the investigating officer obtained legal opinion and then proceeded with the arrests," Reddy said. Madiga was not arrested, as there was no complaint against him.

The journalists were not convinced by his statement and boycotted the briefing.

Chief Minister Y S Rajashekhar Reddy held a meeting with the Home Minister and top police officials to discuss the journalists’ protests.