Kochi: A group of police officers entered the head office of Reporter Broadcasting Company in Kochi in the early hours of Wednesday and seized the mobile phones of journalists, during an inspection that disrupted work at the news desk.
The inspection was led by the Thrikkakara ACP. The officers remained at the office for a long time and did not initially provide journalists with details about the reason for the inspection.
The action has raised concerns over press freedom and the ability of journalists to carry out their professional duties without interference.
The police action took place at the news desk, an area generally accessed only by journalists and technical staff, disrupting newsroom operations.
The inspection also raised questions over whether the action had been authorised. The Director General of Police later clarified that permission for the inspection had not been granted.
The Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ)'s Ernakulam district committee, strongly protested against the police action. District President R Gopakumar and District Secretary M Shajil Kumar said the alleged intrusion into a media institution was highly condemnable.
In a letter to Keralam Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, the KUWJ Ernakulam district committee said the search at the Reporter Television office was an encroachment on media freedom. The KUWJ further alleged that the police did not follow procedures under the CrPC/BNSS and the guidelines of the Supreme Court applicable to searches at media institutions.
As part of its protest, the KUWJ will hold a march to the Kochi City Police Commissioner’s office at 11.30 am, opposing the raid on Reporter TV and the seizure of journalists’ phones.
Meanwhile, former Keralam Chief Minister and CPI(M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan also criticised the police action. He said the raid was reminiscent of the Emergency period and that Keralam would not accept attempts to silence the media.
Former Keralam minister K N Balagopal also criticised the police action. In a Facebook post, he described the entry into the Reporter TV news desk and seizure of journalists’ phones as condemnable.
Balagopal also alleged that the Keralam government was moving towards what he described as a “media hunt” similar to actions by BJP governments in some northern states, and called for public opposition to such trends.
CPI(M) leader K U Jenish Kumar also criticised the action, saying it reflected a failure by the government to understand that a media institution that voices the truth cannot be intimidated.
