New Delhi, May 28 (HS): The Delhi High Court has granted security to a journalist from Madhya Pradesh in connection with the case of him being beaten and stripped at the Bhind SP office. The bench of Justice Ravindra Doodjea directed the Delhi Police to provide the journalist with security for at least two months. The petition stated that the SP of Bhind was unhappy with the journalist's reporting on illegal sand mining in the Chambal River. As a result, the SP had been continuously threatening him and his family.

Amar Kant Singh Chouhan, bureau chief of a news channel in Bhind, filed a petition requesting protection for himself and his family members from Bhind SP Asit Yadav. During the hearing, Amar Kant Singh Chouhan stated that the SP was upset due to his reporting on illegal sand mining in the Chambal River. The illegal sand mining was being conducted with the collusion of the local police. Fearing for his safety, Amar Kant Singh Chouhan had fled from Bhind to Delhi. Even after coming to Delhi, he continued to receive threats from the SP.

During the hearing, Amar Kant Singh Chouhan’s lawyer, Varisa Farasat, urged the Delhi High Court to seek a status report from the Madhya Pradesh police regarding the matter. The court then mentioned that the Madhya Pradesh High Court would be the appropriate forum for this. Farasat then stated that they were not insisting on a status report but were requesting that the petitioner be granted security in Delhi because there is a threat to his and his family members' lives.

The petition states that Amar Kant Singh Chauhan and another journalist, Shashikant Jatav, were called for tea to the SP’s chamber in Bhind by the SP on May 1. There, SP Asit Yadav and his subordinates severely beat them. During this time, around half a dozen journalists were present in the SP's office. Those journalists were also stripped and beaten. On May 4, when Chauhan and Jatav were coming to Delhi from Gwalior to meet MP Jyotiraditya Scindia and share their grievances, another journalist, Saurabh Sharma, advised them to take the road to Delhi. However, they were taken to a nearby dhaba where some police officers were waiting for them. Those police officers took them to the residence of the SP in Bhind for a settlement.

Both journalists were summoned again to the SP's office on May 5, where they were forced to issue a video statement in front of police officials claiming that they had settled the matter with the SP. This video statement was circulated by the Bhind police via WhatsApp to undermine their credibility. Subsequently, on May 19, both journalists fled to Delhi to file a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission and the Press Council of India.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar