Journalist Vinod Verma arrested near Delhi on charges of extortion

Mangalore Today News Network

Ghaziabad, Oct 27, 2017 : A senior journalist believed to be part of an investigation against the Chhattisgarh government was arrested around 3 am on Friday from his home near Delhi on charges of extortion. Vinod Verma, who is a member of the Editors Guild of India, was picked up for questioning from his Ghaziabad home and later charged and arrested by a police team from Raipur.

 

The police claim they have seized hundreds of CDs and a pen drive from his home.


Mr Verma, a freelance journalist, has been Digital Editor at Amar Ujala and has also worked with the BBC Hindi service.

He was part of a fact-finding team of the Editors Guild that travelled to Chhattisgarh last year to examine cases of intimidation of journalists.

Sources say the police believe Mr Verma had incriminating CDs featuring a Chhattisgarh minister. The arrest is based on a complaint filed by an aide of the minister, who alleges that the journalist was "blackmailing" him.

The Chhattisgarh government also claims Mr Verma was working with the state’s opposition Congress to discredit the ruling BJP. The journalist, it says, is related to state Congress chief Bhupesh Vaghel. Mr Vaghel has denied it.

"This is an attack on democracy and we condemn this. They are targeting a journalist to protect their minister,"Mr Vaghel said.

The pre-dawn arrest has triggered outrage, with a deluge of posts on social media. The police are planning to take Mr Verma to Chhattisgarh to question him further.

The fact-finding report that Mr Verma co-wrote concluded that journalists do not feel safe working in Bastar and "there is a sense of fear". It said journalists had to deal with Maoists as well as the police.
Commenting on the arrest or targeting of journalists, the report also said, "The state government wants the media to see its fight with the Maoists as a fight for the nation and expects the media to treat it as a national security issue, and not raise any questions about it."


courtesy:NDTV