The Press Club of India (PCI) on Tuesday, 5 April, slammed the Ballia district administration over the arrest of journalists who broke the paper leak story.
PCI said in its press release, “It is highly condemnable on the part of Ballia district administration to arbitrarily arrest those Ballia-based journalists who had exposed the leak of 12th examination English paper. It is just akin to a case of kettle calling the pot black.”
The UP Board examination for class 12 English was cancelled on 30 March in 24 districts of the state after authorities suspected that the question paper had been leaked in Ballia district. This came despite heavy security and elaborate preparations made to control cheating and use of unfair means.
The press release added, “Of late, it has been observed that UP government is going hammer and tongs to threaten and actually arrest those mediapersons who don’t toe the line of government thinking over the issues of policy measures. And sycophant and more-than-eager UP police and bureaucrats don’t waste time to arrest mediapersons at first-available opportunity to please Powers-that-be.”
The Press Club has demanded that the UP government release the arrested journalists and bring the mafiamen involved in the question paper leak to book.
Three Journalists Arrested
Last week, three journalists Ajit Kumar Ojha, Digvijay Singh and Manoj Gupta were arrested in connection with the paper leak. However, what their role was in the paper leak has not been specified by the police.
Protesting against the arrest, local Ballia journalists, under the banner of the Joint Journalist Sangharsh Samiti, staged a protest against the arrest of three scribes and demanded their immediate release.
Ballia Superintendent of Police had told news agency PTI that the arrests had been made on the FIRs lodged in the case and by following due legal process.
However, he declined to reveal any information on the evidence gathered against the journalists by the police.
The scribes also demanded setting up of a high-level inquiry and punishment to the guilty, president of Ballia Shramjeevi Patrakar Union Anup Kumar Hemkar said on Tuesday, PTI reported.
They also resolved to continue the agitation till the release of the journalists.
Ojha, one of the arrested journalists has claimed that Ballia District Magistrate had taken him "into his confidence" and then "backstabbed" him.
Ojha said that he had shared the leaked papers with the DM and the DIOS on Whatsapp after they themselves asked for the same.
A video of Digvijay Singh, another Amar Ujjala journalist, shouting slogans against the DM, DIOS and the Ballia administration, before his arrest, has also gone viral on social media, with scribes asking the government to not shoot the messenger.
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