A Special Investigation Team (SIT) from the Kerala police executed raids early Wednesday at locations associated with Reporter Broadcasting Corporation (RBC). This included the Kochi bureau of Reporter TV. The investigation focuses on alleged financial irregularities related to the planned visit of Lionel Messi and the Argentine football team to Kerala.
“The scenes today were similar to the police action on media offices in Delhi and [Bharatiya Janata Party] BJP-ruled states. simultaneous searches were carried out at premises linked to Anto Augustine, managing director of RBC, in Kochi and Wayanad While a team led by Thrikkakara assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Bijoy Chandran CK raided the news channel’s headquarters in Kochi. TV visuals showed the news channel’s top editorial staff engaged in verbal arguments with the ACP over the manner of the police raids and the violation of press freedoms. “We came here armed with the court’s search warrant. We tried to hand over the notice intending to search the administrative offices of the TV channel. But they were not ready to take receipt of the notice. The Ernakulam district committee of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) condemned the police action, terming it an “infringement on press freedom. They are similar to the raids carried out on NewsClick and the jailing of its editor.
Journalists and editorial staff of Reporter TV said that the police barged into their workspace during the TV broadcast and seized some official and personal cellphones. We pleaded with the TV staff to cooperate with our search, but they were unwilling to do so,” Chandran said. Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan said the police action at the TV news channel’s office was reminiscent of events during the Emergency in the 1970s. Kerala can never accept such police action,” he said in a statement.
