Uttar Pradesh Police has given a clean chit to journalist Pawan Jaiswal, who was accused of criminal conspiracy for making a video of children being fed salt and roti for mid-day meal in a government primary school, The Indian Express reported.
Mirzapur SP Dharm Veer Singh said Jaiswal was given a clean chit, while a charge sheet has been filed against the other accused in the case, adding that no evidence was found against Jaiswal during the investigation.
An FIR was filed against Jaiswal after he reported that a school in Mirzapur district was serving kids only salt and roti for mid-day meal. The video went viral on 22 August, triggering widespread outrage and leading to the suspension of two teachers.
District magistrate Anurag Patel had said, “Such irregularities were happening because of the mismanagement of teachers”.
Following this, Jaiswal, Village Head Representative Rajkumar Pal and unidentified people were booked under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharging duty), 193 (false evidence) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code, a senior officer said.
The FIR was lodged on the complaint of Mirzapur block education officer Prem Shankar Ram at Ahiraura police station.
According to the complaint, Jaiswal and Pal conspired and deliberately made the video in a well-planned manner and did "despicable work" of maligning the image of the state government by recording a video of school children being served salt and roti in mid-day meal.
Pal was found guilty after going through witness statements, Hindustan Times reported.
Jaiswal is a correspondent at the local Hindi daily Jansandesh Times.
(With inputs from The Indian Express & Hindustan Times.)