Raipur Police has begun tightening the noose on Zee News anchor Rohit Ranjan who has now approached the Supreme Court for relief. It has served notices to multiple staffers at Zee News to join the investigation in the case registered in Raipur against Ranjan for allegedly airing misleading clips about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Raipur Police outside Zee News' office.
(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)
"We went to Zee News office and served a notice under CrPC section 91 to make available appointment documents of anchor Rohit Ranjan and the role and responsibility of people involved in the research team of the show. They have received the notice and sought 7 days' time," Raipur City Superintendent of Police Udyan Behar said.
"We also served a notice to people in the editorial team under CrPC 160 to record their statements, but they refused to accept it. We later pasted the notice on the wall outside their office," SP Behar said.
Notice pasted outside Zee News' office by Raipur Police.
(Photo: Altered by The Quint)
On the basis of a complaint filed by Congress MLA Devendra Yadav at Raipur's Civil Lines police station, Ranjan has been booked under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, including Section 153-A (Promoting Enmity on Grounds of Religion or Race), Section 295-A (Malicious Acts Intending to Hurt Religious Beliefs), Section 504 (Intentional Insult), and Section 505 (1)(b) (Intent to Cause Fear or Alarm to Public).
A day after the video was aired, TV news anchor Ranjan had apologised for mistakenly airing Rahul Gandhi's statement out of context by linking it with the Udaipur murder case.
'UP Police Interfering'
Recalling the sequence of events from the day a Raipur Police team arrived at the Ghaziabad residence of news anchor Ranjan, SP Behar alleged interference by the local police in a letter to Indirapuram SHO Devraj Singh.
"You and your subordinates didn't cooperate in the legal proceedings as per the court order against Rohit Ranjan against whom a warrant was issued and interfered by taking him away," as per an excerpt from the letter, a copy of which was sent to Meerut Inspector General (Range) Praveen Kumar and Ghaziabad Senior Superintendent of Police G Muniraj.
SP Behar in a letter to Indirapuram SHO Devraj Singh alleged interference by the local police.
(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)
Indirapuram Circle Officer Abhay Kumar Mishra, while refraining from directly commenting on the allegations, raised concerns over the conduct of the Raipur Police.
"There is no point in having a conversation with a police officer who is playing through Twitter and media. If there is an issue with an inspector, I won't complaint to the media, instead I will inform my senior officials. I don't give my bite to the media on the internal matter," Indirapuram CO Mishra said.
"If he wants to address an internal issue through media, his intention appears to be mala fide. If he had written a mail to our IG or SSP, that was quite enough. Our internal matter is not a subject for media," he added.
Fight for Custody
In a frantic call for help, news anchor Ranjan took to Twitter on July 5, asking UP Police and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to intervene when Chhattisgarh Police arrived to arrest him at his residence in Indirapuram, Ghaziabad.
"Without informing the local police, the Chhattisgarh Police has arrived at my doorstep to arrest me. Is this legal?" his tweet at 6:16 am read in Hindi.
Raipur Police, however, responded saying that there was no "such rule to inform." The police team had shown him the court's arrest warrant. "You should in fact cooperate, join in investigation and put your defence in court," Raipur Police said.
As the UP and Raipur Police fought for custody, Ranjan was whisked away in a private car allegedly by policemen from Indirapuram police station
(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)
As the two state police units fought for custody, Ranjan was whisked away in a private car allegedly by policemen from Indirapuram police station. When the Raipur Police reached Indirapuram police station, they were shown a general diary entry which showed that Ranjan has been arrested by Noida Police in a case registered at Sector 20 police station.
Later in the evening on 5 July, Noida Police issued a brief press note officially announcing the arrest and the bail granted to the news anchor. "After interrogation, he (Ranjan) was arrested based on evidence. He was granted bail as the sections against him were bailable. The investigation is underway," the press note read.
Ranjan Seeks Urgent Hearing in Supreme Court
Facing multiple FIRs and with Raipur Police in pursuit, news anchor Ranjan has now sought an urgent hearing by the apex court for relief. The petition seeks clubbing of FIRs registered against him in the Congress-ruled states of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. The matter is yet to be heard but Raipur Police claim that it is ready with its reply.
"The cases are of different nature. Our case in Raipur has non-bailable sections, whereas in Noida case, he was given bail in the evening. In our case, a warrant has been issued which we are bound to exercise and produce him in court post-arrest," Raipur City SP Udyan Behar said.
Raipur Police outside Zee News anchor Rohit Ranjan's Ghaziabad house on Wednesday.
(Photo: Twitter/Raipur Police)
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