Hyderabad: The arrest of two journalists of Telugu media outlet NTV earlier this week has drawn condemnation from the Editors Guild of India, which has urged freedom of media in Telangana.
In a letter addressed to Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Sunday, January 18, the EGI said that no names were mentioned in the report aired by NTV in their gossip programme and that the police had acted on a complaint filed by the Secretary of the Telangana IAS Officers’ Association and not the unknown lady officer who had been allegedly defamed.
“While the Guild deplores the use of media vehicles for defamation, in the instant case, it believes that the police showed undue haste in acting against NTV and its journalists,” the letter read.
They said the midnight raids and arrests were “unwarranted” for bailable offences and that ideally, the police should have carried out proper and thorough investigations before resorting to such “coercive action”.
“Such overreach has a chilling effect on independent media. The EGI urges you to ensure that the media can operate in a free and unfettered manner in Telangana, and requests that you direct your officers to follow due process and exercise restraint in dealing with the media.” they said.
The journalists in question, NTV Input Editor Donthu Ramesh and reporter Sudheer, were arrested on January 13 after a report alleging an “affair” between Roads and Buildings Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and a female IAS officer was aired on their channel.
Ramesh was picked up from the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) as he was about to board a flight for Bangkok and Sudheer, was picked up from his residence in Hyderabad.
They were later released on bail on January 15 by the 14th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) in Nampally.
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