Uttarakhand: Dalit journalist of news portal 'Janjawar' arrested on "fake charges", scribes demand release

In an alleged case of harassment, a Dalit journalist associated with the news portal 'Janjwar' has been arrested by the Uttarakhand police for inciting caste-violence on February 23.

The Dalit journalist, Kishore Ram has been languishing behind the bars since then.

As per the FIR lodged by Pithoragarh police, Kishore Ram who is also known as Kishore Human, was arrested under the section 153-A of Indian Penal Code (IPC) for creating animosity between castes and inciting violence/hatred among them.

In the FIR, the Uttarakhand police has alleged that Kishore Ram was inciting Dalits to kill OBC and upper caste.

However, those who know Kishore Ram say that police arrested him under “fake charges”.

Demanding release of the journalist, members of civil society and a group of journalists held a protest in the state capital city Dehradun on Sunday.

Saying that the Uttarakhand Police has infringed upon a journalist's right to report and express his thoughts, members of Dehradun civil society have shot off a letter to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, demanding the release of the Dalit journalist.

Senior journalist and social activist Trilochan Bhatt condemned the arrest and demanded his release.

“Janjwar” editor, Ajay Prakash said that crimes against Dalits are on the rise under the BJP regime in Uttarakhand. “Dalits are facing discrimination in every sphere of life. The Uttarakhand Police has arrested Ram for bringing out an inconvenient truth”, he said.

The Police claimed that two videos shot by Kishore and published by “Janjwar” were found to have objectionable content. Kishore Ram was asking caste related questions when he was reporting on the polls, alleged police.

Ajay said that “the cases in which Ram has been arrested are different from each other.” Pertinently, it is the second case filed by the Uttarakhand police against “Janjwar” within 15 days.

Ajay Prakash told NH that his vehicle was apprehended by the police a fortnight ago when he was on an assignment in the state. He alleged that the Uttarakhand police has tried to “seize” his car and deploy it at poll duty.

“When I resisted, they misbehaved with me and filed a case against me,” said Ajay Prakash. In a letter written to the Election Commission, Prakash asked the statutory body to intervene.

Meanwhile, Supreme Court advocate Raveendra Gadhiya called it an “attack on freedom of the fourth pillar of democracy – the press.”

Two years ago in 2020, Uttarakhand Police had arrested journalist Rajiv Nayan Bahuguna and BBC correspondent Dilnawaz Pasha, in separate incidents. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliates the Indian Journalists’ Union (IJU) and the National Union of Journalists (India) (NUJ-I) had then condemned the Uttarakhand Police and demanded an investigation into the attack on journalists.