Fourth journalist held in Bastar in 6 months

The police on Saturday arrested another journalist in Maoist-dominated Dantewada district in Chhattisgarh’s conflict zone Bastar on charges of entering an examination centre in the area without authorisation.

According to the police, Dipak Jaiswal was arrested at Gidam in south Bastar district here following a case registered against him a few months ago on the complaint of Hiranpur High School principal. Mr Jaiswal, along with one of his accomplices Prabhat Singh, forcibly entered the school premises, assaulted teachers and staff members and demanded money, Dantewada district Superintendent of police (SP) Kamal Lochan Kashyap told this newspaper. Mr Kashyap, however, said Mr Jaiswal was not a journalist. “We have verified records with district public relations department. There is no record in the department to establish that Mr Jaiswal is a journalist,” he said.

Meanwhile, local media claimed that Mr Jaiswal works for a Gidam-based Hindi daily Daindin.

Dipak Jaiswal is the fourth journalist to be rounded up in Bastar in the past six months.

Prabhat Singh, a journalist with a local Hindi daily, was last week arrested for allegedly texting “objectionable” comments on a WhatsApp group against a senior police officer.

Mr Singh’s arrest sparked a wave of protests and condemnation with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) expressing dismay and sending a notice to the Chhattisgarh government.

Two other Bastar-based scribes -Santosh yadav and Somaru Nag- have earlier been arrested on charges of aiding Naxals.

Both the journalists were arrested under the draconian Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005 authorising the police to imprison the accused booked under the law for one year even without filing chargesheet.

Earlier, Red Cross administrator-turned- part time scribe, Malini Subramanyam was forced to leave Bastar after her landlord reportedly asked her to vacate his house.