On Wednesday, the Kerala police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) executed raids at various locations associated with the Reporter Broadcasting Corporation (RBC). This included the Kochi bureau of Reporter TV. The investigation focuses on alleged financial irregularities concerning the planned visit of Lionel Messi and the Argentine football team to Keralam.
“The scenes today were similar to the police action on media offices in Delhi and 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 Bijoy Chandran CK raided the news channel’s headquarters in Kochi. The TV news network is part of RBC’s corporate assets. Journalists and editorial staff of Reporter TV claimed that the police officers barged into their workspace in the middle of the TV broadcast and seized the official and personal cellphones of some of them. TV visuals showed the top editorial staff of the news channel 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 and termed it an “infringement on press freedom. They are similar to the raids carried out on NewsClick and the jailing of its editor. However, Chief Minister VD Satheesan sought to defend the police action and dismissed reports of disruption of news broadcast.
We pleaded with the TV staff to cooperate with our search, but they were unwilling to do so,” Chandran told reporters. Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan said the police action at the TV news channel’s office reminded of the events during the Emergency in the 1970s. Kerala can never accept such police action,” he said in a statement.
