Haryana journalists protest stripping of their MP counterpart

“While crossing the limits of humanity, they were stripped and their photos were made viral on social media. By doing this, the (accused) policemen have shown the state of their mental disorder,” the memorandum mentions, seeking dismissal of all the cops who were present at the police station at the time of the incident.

In a separate statement, the Editors Guild of India (EGI) has also expressed shock and outrage on the manner in which “the police of Sidhi district, Madhya Pradesh, arrested, stripped and humiliated a local journalist as well as some members of civil society, on April 2, 2022, in retaliation against protest and associated news coverage of arrest of another member of civil society”. The EGI said: “Though the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, has suspended the cops and ordered an inquiry into this case, this increasing tendency of the police and local administration to brazenly attack and intimidate journalists is extremely disturbing and needs to be checked.”

The MP Police on Thursday ordered an internal inquiry after a photograph of eight men, including a YouTuber, stripped down to their undergarments and standing at Kotwali Police Station in Sidhi district went viral on social media. According to Sidhi SP Mukesh Shrivastava, the Kotwali Police had on April 2 arrested Neeraj Kunder, a theater artiste, in a case related to defaming a BJP MLA and his family. To oppose the arrest, a group of around 40 men – Kunder’s relatives and friends, and a YouTuber – gheraoed the police station in the evening and started raising slogans.

“It was in this context that they were held under preventive detention. But why they were stripped off their clothes and who did that is being investigated.” the SP said.