Minister Chennithala rejects charges of police high-handedness in news channel raid

Thiruvananthapuram, Keralam Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala on Friday rejected allegations of police high-handedness during the recent raid at the office of a private Malayalam news channel, saying the search was conducted in accordance with the legal procedures.

He said the government had taken "very transparent" steps in connection with the controversy surrounding the failed visit of Messi-led Argentina football team to Keralam, under the sponsorship of the Reporter Broadcasting Company , and denied allegations of a media witch-hunt.

"An SIT comprising senior officials under the ADGP has been given complete freedom by the government to conduct the investigation," Chennithala said at a press conference here.

He said received daily intelligence inputs on the probe, but clarified that the government had not instructed the police to arrest or not arrest any particular person.

"What happened at that TV office was a search related to the fraud case. RBC is the second accused in the case. That's why the police carried out the search there," he said.

An FIR was registered at the Kalamassery police station and searches were conducted simultaneously at five locations after obtaining search warrants from the court, Chennithala pointed out.

Independent witnesses were present and the entire proceedings were videographed, he added.

"There was no high-handedness by the police during the raid. Not a single journalist was assaulted or treated badly. The police asked them to keep their phones aside during the search, but returned them immediately. The channel's broadcast was not disrupted even for a minute," he said.

Chennithala said if there was any lapse on the part of the police, he would examine it for sure and all the actions were subject to judicial scrutiny.

He said he had sought information after opposition leaders raised complaints through the media and it became clear that there had been no excesses from the police side.

Referring to incidents during the previous LDF government, Chennithala said Keralam had witnessed the arrest of a senior journalist in handcuffs and his detention in jail for 70 days.

Cases were also registered against journalists of a prominent Malayalam news channel and online portal during that period, he said, adding that the news channel's office in Kozhikode was also searched by the police.

"But there is no such Emergency-like situation in Keralam now. The campaign that there is an Emergency-like situation against the media in the state is baseless," he said.

The UDF government would extend all support to the media, Chennithala added.

The Kerala Police on Wednesday searched the Kochi headquarters of the Malayalal news channel and premises linked to its promoters as part of a probe into alleged financial irregularities surrounding the failed Lionel Messi-Argentina football event in the state, triggering a political row over the action.

The searches, conducted at five locations in Kochi and Wayanad, including the office of RBC, the residences of its promoters, the Augustine brothers, and their ancestral home in Wayanad, were carried out on the basis of court-issued warrants, police said.

The search at the RBC office, which houses the channel newsroom, led to allegations by the channel that police entered the news desk and took away mobile phones used by journalists and other employees, disrupting its news operations.

The police, however, denied seizing any mobile phone and said the search was aimed at collecting documents connected with the investigation.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.