Appeal to Release Journalists Jailed in Chhattisgarh
Journalists and activists petition ministers for the release of jailed Chhattisgarh journalists.
The TEXT of the appeal
A petition has been submitted to the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Dr.Raman Singh, the Home Minister Rajnath Singh, the Minister of Information & Broadcasting Arun Jaitley and the Minister for Tribal Affairs Jual Oram by 160 journalists and members of civil society, asking for the release of two journalists in Chhattisgarh, jailed in July and September. It reads as follows:
“We, the undersigned journalists and members of civil society, are deeply concerned about the reports of the arrest and custodial torture of two Hindi language journalists Santosh Yadav and Somaru Nag, in September and July this year, from the Darbha block of Southern Bastar in Chhattisgarh, on the charge of supporting Maoists.
Santosh Yadav, was arrested by police on September 29 2015 and Somaru Nag, an Adivasi journalist, was arrested on July 16 2015. Yadav used to report for multiple Hindi newspapers including Dainik Navbharat and Dainik Chhattisgarh. Nag was a stringer-cum-news agent with Rajasthan Patrika.
While Nag has been charged under the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act, Yadav has been charged under the Indian Penal Code, the Arms Act, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and the Chhattisgarh Public Security Act (CPSA). There is no clarity as to the charges against them, or the evidence which the police hold about their alleged involvement with Maoists.
According to these reports (Arrested, tortured and Jailed in South Bastar andTruth has two versions in Bastar), Yadav's name was added to a case where 18 villagers were arrested and charged with an encounter, which took place on 21st August during a road-opening operation by the security forces in which a Special Police Officer was killed. Nag was charged with keeping a look out on the movements of the police, while a group burnt a crusher plant employed in road construction in ChoteKadma on 26th June.
Local lawyers and members of the People's Union of Civil Liberties said that police had been harassing SantoshYadav for several months now, ever since he began reporting on the conflict between the police and the Maoists. While the police personnel state that he had links with the Maoists, civil liberties activists allege that the police was pressurizing Yadav to become an informer for them.
The arrests have only brought to the fore the extremely precarious condition of journalists reporting from these conflict areas, in particular journalists who live and work in rural areas. They face a Hobson's choice, and their reportage as well as their independence and their very safety, is severely compromised. In this situation, police arrests end up intimidating and silencing all independent voices.
Somaru Nag and SantoshYadav’s arrests have contributed to a deep sense of insecurity amongst journalists in the state and a fear that, not just their work, but their own lives, will be in danger if they venture out to do any independent investigation, or stories that are critical of either the security forces or the Maoists. Either way, they face a threat, and these arrests suggest that journalists cannot expect any protection under the law from police and security forces.
In order to protect their right to work and report freely, the local journalists have formed a PatrakaarSurakshaKanoonSanyuktSangharshSamiti (United Struggle Body for the Security of Journalists). This body has demanded
- that Somaru Nag and SantoshYadav be immediately released;
- that the state create conditions for reporters to work and travel freely, and without fear or harassment;
- that the practice of fake arrests stop and that the Chhattisgarh Public Security Act be repealed or not used against reporters;
- And finally, an investigation into the methods adopted by senior police official S.R.P.Kalluri, who has created an atmosphere of terror in the Bastar region, especially against the media.
The signatories so far:
- MrinalPande, Chairperson, The Media Foundation, Delhi
- Ravish Kumar, Senior Executive Editor, NDTV, Delhi
- Shekhar Gupta, Television Anchor and Columnist, Delhi
- Aruna Roy, MazdoorKisan Shakti Sangathan
- Siddharth Varadarajan, Editor-in-Chief, The Wire, Delhi
- Rajdeep Sardesai, Consulting Editor, India Today Group, New Delhi
- Indira Jaising, Senior Advocate Supreme Court, Trustee Lawyers Collective, Delhi
- Sagarika Ghose, Consulting Editor, Times of India, New Delhi
- Vipul Mudgal, Common Cause & Foundation for Media Professionals
- Dileep Padgaonkar, former editor, Times of India, Pune
- Shoma Chaudhary, Editor-in-Chief, Catch News, Delhi
- Nitin Desai, Economist and Columnist
- Bharat Bhushan, Editor, Catch News, Delhi
- Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Senior Journalist, Delhi
- Pamela Philipose, Senior Journalist, Delhi
- Harsh Mander, Social Worker and Writer, Delhi
- Shailesh Gandhi, former Central Information Commissioner, Mumbai
- Kalpana Sharma, Journalist, Mumbai
- Seema Mustafa, The Citizen, Delhi
- Raman Kirpal, Editor, DNA
- Siddharth Dube, Contributing Editor, Caravan Magazine
- Subir Bhaumik, Former BBC Correspondent, Kolkata
- Mannika Chopra, Managing Editor, Social Change, New Delhi
- Sevanti Ninan, Thehoot.org, Delhi
- Dr. Shujaat Bukhari, Editor-in-Chief, Rising Kashmir, Srinagar
- Sujata Madhok, Delhi Union of Journalists
- M J Pandey, Brihanmumbai Union of Journalists
- Nikhil Dey, MazdoorKisan Shakti Sangathan
- Ammu Joseph, Senior Journalist, Bengaluru
- Shubhranshu Choudhary, CGNetSwara, Raipur
- Jyoti Punwani, Journalist, Mumbai
- Nupur Basu, Filmmaker and Journalist, Bengaluru
- Ashis Kothari, Pune
- Dunu Roy, Hazards Centre
- Madhusree Mukherjee, Writer, Germany
- Ravi Rebbapragada, Editor, Dhimsa
- Chitrangada Choudhury, Journalist & Researcher, Bhubaneshwar
- Geeta Seshu, Journalist, Mumbai
- Pushpa Achanta, Journalist, Bengaluru
- Manisha Sethi, Academic, Delhi
- Arudra Burra, IIT, Delhi
- Kamayani Bal Mahabal, Independent Journalist, Mumbai
- Rohit Chopra, Professor, Santa Clara University
- Kaveri Gill, Independent Researcher
- Ishan Tankha, Photographer, Delhi
- Rahul Basu, Goa
- Aniket Aga, Yale University
- Manoj Gopal krishnan, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
- Kiran Shaheen, Independent Journalist, Delhi
- Pushpendra, Tata Institute of Social Sciences
- Aritra Bhattacharya, Tata Institute of Social Sciences
- Arunima Kaushik, Mumbai University
- Stan Swamy, Ranchi
- Linda Chhakchhuak, Grassroots Options, Shillong
- Revati Laul, Independent Journalist, Ahmedabad
- Karen Dias, Photographer, Mumbai
- Rajashri Dasgupta, Independent Journalist, Kolkata
- Javed Iqbal, Journalist and Photographer, Mumbai
- Paroma Mukherjee, Photographer, Delhi
- Padmaja Shaw, Hyderabad
- Vani Rupela, Speech Pathologist, Fairfax
- Nilanjana Bhowmick, Independent Journalist, Delhi
- Arti Jaiman, Station Director, Gurgaon kiAwaaz
- Smita Nair, Journalist, Mumbai
- Akhileshwari, Journalist
- Kavitha Muralidharan, Journalist, Chennai
- Dilip D’Souza, Writer, Mumbai
- Shahina KK, Assistant Editor,OPEN
- Sudhir Pattnaik, Editor, Bhubaneswar
- Raksha Kumar, Journalist, Bangalore
- Aditya Sinha, Journalist
- Dilnaz Boga, Journalist, Mumbai
- Rohini Mohan, Journalist, Bangalore
- Laxmi Murthy, Consulting Editor, HimalSouthasian, Bangalore
- Soumyadipta Banerjee, Journalist, Mumbai
- Sumi Krishna, Writer, Bangalore
- Freny Manecksha, Journalist, Mumbai
- Noor Enayat, Brand Consultant, Delhi
- Sobhi Mohanty, Government Consultant, Bhubaneshwar
- Ananya Vajpeyi, Professor, Delhi
- Sibi Arasu, Independent Journalist, Chennai
- Govind Krishnan, Fountain Ink, Bangalore
- Latika Padgaonkar, Pune
- Nikita Sud, Associate Professor, Oxford University
- N P Chekutty, Editor, Thejas Daily, Calicut
- Kartikeya Date, Academician, Haifa
- Ruchi Sharma. Freelance Journalist, New York, USA
- Anuradha Nagaraj, Journalist, Chennai
- Priyanshu Gupta, IIM Kolkata
- Suvir Kaul, University of Pennsylvania
- Dharitri Bhattacharjee, University of South Sewanee
- Uma Chakravarti, Delhi
- Virginia Saldanha, Activist, Mumbai.
- Preetha Nair, Journalist, IANS, Delhi
- Kalpana Mehta, Indore
- Karthik Bittu, University of Hyderabad
- Nandini Rao, Activist, Delhi
- Urvashi Butalia, Publisher, Delhi
- Shewli Kumar, Associate Professor, Tata Institute of Social Sciences
- Nilanjana S Roy, Writer, Delhi
- Aarthi Pai, Lawyer, Bangalore
- Aruna Chandrasekhar, Amnesty India
- Kalyani Menon-Sen, Independent researcher and writer
- Nitya Vasudevan, Bangalore
- Sudipto Mondal, Journalist, Bangalore
- Neha Dixit, Independent Journalist, Delhi
- Priyanka Borpujari, Independent Journalist, Bombay/Guwahati
- Susie Tharu, Author, Hyderabad
- Sujata Gothoskar, Activist and Researcher, Bombay
- Sneha Rajaram, Bangalore
- Seema Krishna kumar, Communications Designer, Trivandrum
- Rochisha Narayan, YALE-NUS College, Singapore
- Aheli Moitra, Journalist, The Morung Express, Nagaland
- Anannya Bhattacharjee, Labour Unionist, National Capital Region
- Nivedita Menon, JNU, Delhi
- Anita Ghai, Professor, Ambedkar University, Delhi
- Mary E John, Centre for Women’s Development Studies, Delhi
- Abha Bhaiya, Jagori, Delhi
- Vidya Kulkarni, Independent Journalist, Pune
- Geetartha Pathak, Vice-President, Indian Journalists Union, Guwahati
- Dr. Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar, Medical Officer and Writer, Pakur
- D W Karuna, Researcher, Chennai
- Ramlath Kavil, Photographer, Writer, Mumbai
- Supriya Madangarli, writer, Mumbai
- Amrita Shodhan, School of Oriental and African Studies, London
- Geetanjali Gangoli, University of Bristol
- Jaideep Hardikar, Journalist, Nagpur
- Subir Ghosh, Journalist, Bangalore
- Anuradha Banerji, Ambedkar University, New Delhi
- Richa Minocha, Member Secretary, Jan AbhiyanSanstha, Shimla
- Saheli Women's Resource Centre, New Delhi
- Aatreyee Sen, Forum for Human Rights and Justice
- Lalita Ramdas, Delhi
- WSS (Women against Sexual Violence and State Repression)
- Nihar Gokhale, Journalist, Delhi
- Shailesh Rai, Bangalore
- Sandhya Srinivasan, Journalist, Mumbai
- Pavan Dahat, Journalist, Raipur
- Jitendra Choubey, Journalist, Down to Earth
- Tara Chettur, Journalist, The Hitavada
- Joydeep Gupta, Editor, The Third Pole
- Rituparna Borah, Nazariya: A Queer Feminist Resource Group, Delhi
- Ritambhara Mehta, Nazariya: A Queer Feminist Resource Group, Delhi
- Anshu Jain, Nazariya: A Queer Feminist Resource Group, Delhi
- Veena Poonacha, Academic, Mumbai
- Gabriele Dietrich, Madurai
- Jinee Lokaneeta, Academic, New Jersey
- Saswati Ghosh, City College (under Calcutta University), Kolkata
- Sakina Bahora, Mumbai
- Neeraj Malik, Academic
- Ammu Abraham, Women’s Rights Activist, Mumbai
- Ritu Menon, Publisher, Women Unlimited, Delhi
- Ayesha Kidwai, Academic, Delhi
- Sarojini N
- Rama Vedula, Delhi
- Roshmi Goswami, Shillong
- Shubha Singh, Journalist, Delhi
- Anjali Monteiro, Filmmaker and Academic, Mumbai
- Simpreet Singh, Tata Institute of Social Sciences
- Ashoke Chatterjee, Ahmedabad
- Suvojit Bagchi, journalist, Kolkata
- Anuradha Raman, journalist, The Hindu, Delhi
- Ramneek Singh, playwright and theatre director, Bangalore
For any further information please contact any of the following:
Kamal Shukla: kamalkanker@gmail.com
ChitrangadaChoudhury: chitrangada.c@gmail.com/
Sevanti Ninan: sevanti_ninan@yahoo.co.in
Geeta Seshu : geetaseshu@gmail.com
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