Searches at Kashmir Times office in Jammu over 'anti-national activities'

14 cartridges of AK-47, some rounds of pistol and three hand grenade pins were recovered during the searches.

The State Investigation Agency (SIA) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police on Thursday conducted searches at the office of the Kashmir Times in Jammu for alleged involvement in anti-national activities.

Paramilitary soldiers patrol near the Nowgam police station after an accidental explosion on the outskirts of Srinagar. (Photo By Waseem Andrabi /Hindustan Times)

The J&K police said it has filed a case against the English daily, owned by Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal, for involvement in anti-national activities, attempts to spread disaffection against the country and peddling separatists' narrative.

14 cartridges of AK-47, some rounds of pistol and three hand grenade pins were recovered during the searches, sources said. However, an official statement from the authorities is awaited.

The fresh action comes five years after the Srinagar office of Kashmir Times was sealed by the Jammu and Kashmir authorities in October 2020. The Kashmir Times, established in 1954, is the oldest English-language daily newspaper from Jammu and Kashmir started by Anuradha Bhasin's father, Ved Bhasin.

J&K Deputy CM reacts

Jammu and Kashmir deputy chief minister Surinder Choudhary urged the investigative agencies not to "pick-and-choose" media organisations for raids.

"The agencies are doing their work. If a raid has to be conducted, it should not be done on a pick-and-choose basis. If they have done anything wrong, action should be taken, but not just to create pressure. The Press is the fourth estate, and it should get space to practice journalism," Surinder Choudhary told reporters, according to ANI.

Youth Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party chief Aditya Gupta also criticised the raid, calling the Kashmir Times the "boldest voice" of the UT.

Kashmir Times slams raids

The management of the Kashmir Times criticised the raids on its Jammu office, calling it “a coordinated attempt to suppress an independent media institution”.

In a joint statement, Editors Prabodh Jamwal and Anuradha Bhasin said, "The reported raids on our office in Jammu, the baseless accusations of activities inimical to the state and the coordinated crackdown on the Kashmir Times are yet another attempt to silence us."

“Criticising the government is not the same as being inimical to the state. In fact, it is the very opposite. A robust, questioning press is essential to a healthy democracy. Our work of holding power to account, investigating corruption, amplifying marginalised voices strengthens our nation. It does not weaken it," they said.

The editors said that the English daily has consistently upheld independent journalism.

“We have chronicled the region’s triumphs and failures with equal rigour. We have given voice to communities that would otherwise go unheard. We have asked difficult questions when others remained silent,” the statement added.