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Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday sought the stand of the police on a plea by prominent Malayalam news channel Asianet, which has alleged harassment by the force in connection with some anti-drug use news it had telecasted.
Justice N Nagaresh, after a preliminary hearing of the matter, directed the State police chief and other officials to inform the court about their stand regarding the allegations made in the petition of the channel.
The court also asked the news channel to file a separate affidavit regarding the harassment allegedly faced by it the police after it filed the petition last Friday.
Asianet, in its plea, has alleged that the news organisation and its employees were being harassed for having launched a campaign against drug abuse in the state, particularly among children.
It has alleged that the police was “acting in accordance with their political masters” and its employees “are being harassed, ill-treated and humiliated” by the force despite the court’s earlier orders to provide protection to the channel’s offices.
In its plea, it has said that after noticing the alarming spike in drug use among children, it decided to conduct a study and research on the issue, following which it published an interview with a victim of drug abuse.
Thereafter, in November last year, it began a campaign, ‘Narcotics is a dirty business’, coinciding with the state government’s efforts to fight drug abuse in Kerala, the petition has claimed.
As part of its news series on the issue, “one of the earlier news stories regarding drug abuse by children was revisited using file shots,” it has said.
“Pursuant to the telecast of the series against the abuse of narcotic drugs, on March 3 a group of nearly 30 SFI activists violently and forcefully trespassed into the office and studio floor of the news channel’s Kochi regional office, shouting slogans, and intimidated the staff..,” it has further claimed.
A case was registered by police against identifiable SFI activists and some were arrested and released on bail, it has said.
Subsequently, Asianet had moved the High Court seeking protection against any violent attack, the petition has said.
The court had on March 8 directed the police to provide adequate protection to offices of Asianet.
Regarding the SFI’s trespassing into Asianet’s Kochi office, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had said in the State Assembly that the pro-left student wing had organised a protest march to the channel’s office against the making of an allegedly fake video using a minor girl.
The video content amounted to spreading the misapprehension that government schools in the state were in the grip of drugs, the CM had said.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )
