Azamgarh (UP): Azamgarh District Magistrate NP Singh ordered Monday a probe into the arrest of a journalist allegedly after he took photographs of some children mopping the floor in their school.
The journalist was arrested on false charges of extortion and obstructing public servants from discharging their duty, alleged a fellow journalist Sudhir Singh, who, along with other journalists met Singh to apprise him of the alleged illegal arrest.
“No injustice will be meted out to the journalist. We will look into the matter,” the Azamgarh DM asserted.
Local journalist Santosh Jaiswal was arrested here last week Friday after he took photographs of school children, mopping the floor and called up police to apprise them of the illegal practice by school authorities,” said Sudhir informed.
Sudhir said the police, responding to Jaiswal’s call reached the school and took both the journalist and principal Radhey Shyam Yadav of the Oodpur Primary School to the police station.
However, at the police station, the principal lodged a complaint against Jaiswal on the basis of which an FIR was registered against him and he was arrested.
The FIR No 237 registered September 6, 2019 against the journalist quotes the school principal as saying that Jaiswal often visited the school and misbehaved with both male and female teachers and students and tried to persuade them to subscribe to the newspaper published by him.
Radhey Shyam said in the FIR that on the day of the incident Jaiswal came to the school and ordered some school children to mop the floor to facilitate him take their photographs. The principal said he objected to his act, following which Jaiswal fled the school premises leaving his vehicle there. However, according to the principal Jaiswal later demanded money from him. He also threatened to put the pictures on various social media platforms if the principal did not pay up.
Sudhir refuted the charges against the arrested journalist.
PTI