A local news portal journalist was arrested in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur district on charges of allegedly circulating rumours against judiciary and government officers, police said on Monday.
Nilesh Sharma, a Raipur based operator of the ‘India Writers’ portal, was arrested by Bilaspur district police from capital Raipur on Sunday.
Police said that Sharma was an associate of Sunil Namedeo, another Raipur-based news portal owner who was booked last month under sections 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 505(1)(b) (Whoever makes, publishes or circulates any statement, rumour or report with intent to cause fear or alarm in the public) of the IPC based on a complaint of a lawyer.
Namedeo was arrested on June 1 from Raipur.
“It is the same case in which Namedo was arrested. Sharma was an associate of Namdeo,” said a senior police officer.
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According to a statement issued by Raipur police on June 1, Namedeo, the operator of NewsTodayCG.com was booked on the complaint by an advocate in Bilaspur over a news article run by him on a judge.
“Pursuing the legal action in the case against Sunil Namedeo, a team of Bilaspur police had come to Raipur. When they raided the Mana area of Raipur along with the local police station officers, the accused was caught. The police also recovered the banned MDMA drug from the accused which has been seized and the case under the NDPS Act was lodged by the Raipur Police against the accused,” the statement issued on June 1 stated.
{{/usCountry}}“Pursuing the legal action in the case against Sunil Namedeo, a team of Bilaspur police had come to Raipur. When they raided the Mana area of Raipur along with the local police station officers, the accused was caught. The police also recovered the banned MDMA drug from the accused which has been seized and the case under the NDPS Act was lodged by the Raipur Police against the accused,” the statement issued on June 1 stated.
{{/usCountry}}However, Namedeo’s wife, Manmeet Sohal accused Chhattisgarh police claiming that her husband was framed by the police.
“This is a conspiracy against my husband. He is completely innocent and doing his journalism. The police framed them under the NDPS Act and sent him to jail,” alleged Sohal.