Noida scribes' panel meets journalists arrested for 'objectionable' post on UP CM

A delegation of Noida journalists Thursday met fellow media persons of the Nation Live news channel who are in judicial custody for airing allegedly defamatory content against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

The three-member joint panel of the Noida Media Club and the Greater Noida Press Club that met them comprised senior journalists Mohammad Azaad, Dharmendra Chandel and Dinesh Sharma.

In a statement released here after the meeting, the Noida Media Club said the criminal charges of forgery and fraud against the accused have been invoked wrongly and demanded their immediate release. It claimed that the Gautam Buddh Nagar administration and the district police "acted in haste" in this matter.

"Proper probe was not carried out before arresting the journalists. The trio has been charged with forgery and fraud, which according to the law also, are wrong in this case. We have demanded immediate release of the arrested journalists Ishika Singh, Anuj Shukla and Anurag Kaushik and that the charges against them be dropped," the statement said.

It also demanded a high-level probe into the whole episode that led to the arrests.

Nation Live's head Ishika Singh and editor Anuj Shukla were arrested on June 8, while another editor, Anshul Kaushik, was held on June 11, for allegedly broadcasting content on a debate show on June 6 that was deemed "defamatory" to the state chief minister by local authorities.

The three-member panel met Shukla and Kaushik at the Luksar jail here Thursday.

Noida Media Club president Pankaj Parashar said the delegation has sought a meeting with the chief minister, who is scheduled to visit Greater Noida on Friday.

Meanwhile, Nation Live's office premises in Noida Sector 65 have been sealed after two FIRs were lodged against it under various Indian Penal Code sections, including 501 (printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory), 153 (promoting enmity between different groups), 420 (fraud) and related offences.