J&K police seizes journalist’s phone, returns it later

The Jammu & Kashmir police on December 17 seized the mobile phone of journalist Jehangir Ali, who works with news portal The Wire.

The police seized Ali’s phone from his residence in the Badgam district of Jammu &Kashmir. Reacting to the incident, The Wire termed the action as an “attempt by the Jammu and Kashmir police and administration to intimidate its correspondent, which is emblematic of the systematic harassment of journalists in J&K.”

The portal said that the police seized Ali’s phone without giving a reason for the action and the details of an FIR, case, warrant or court order. “Contrary to directions issued by the Supreme Court to Central agencies and to universally accepted norms aimed at preserving the integrity of seized electronic devices, they did not provide Jehangir Ali the hash value of the seized phone,” it added.

In a statement, The Wire stressed that documenting the hash value, a unique digital fingerprint generated from data that allows detection of any tampering, is crucial to ensuring that no information is inserted into or removed from his device during the period it remains in custody. 

It also stated that the seizure of his phone comes at a time when Ali was reporting on allegations of nepotism and corruption in the Ratle Hydro power project in Kishtwar. The portal demanded that Ali’s phone be returned immediately.

On Thursday, the journalist was called to a police station, where the J&K police returned his mobile.