The Delhi Police on Monday filed a case against journalist Meer Faisal and news portal Article 14 for their tweets about the targeting of seven journalists at a Hindutva hate gathering in New Delhi.
Meer Faisal was among the seven journalists who were targeted by Hindutva activists at the Hindu mahapanchayat New Delhi’s Burari area that was held on Sunday.
Journalist Arbab Ali who was covering the event for Article 14, was among the Muslim reporters who were communally abused there.
The police filed a case against Faisal and Article 14 under Section 505 (2) of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes, PTI news agency reported.
This comes hours after Delhi Police have registered two FIRs in connection with the attack on seven journalists by the Hindu mob at the hate conclave.
Arbab Ali, Meer Faisal, Shahid Tantry, Md Meherban and Meghnad Bose are the journalists targeted by assailants. Shivangi Saxena and Ronak Bhatt of NewsLaundry were also assaulted by the audience.
The first FIR was first based on a complaint filed by Newslaundry’s Saxena, who had complained that she and one of her colleagues were “manhandled and assaulted” during the event.
The second FIR was filed on the complaint by freelance Arbab Ali, who said in the complaint that he and Meer Faisal were interviewing people at the event when they were attacked and harassed.
The FIR was filed under Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
“We were called jihadis and attacked for being Muslims,” Arbab Ali, an independent journalist tweeted about the attack.
Journalists claim that their video footage was deleted.
Ali alleged that Meer Faisal and he were made to sit separately and delete the videos they had shot at the event. Faisal was allegedly hit on his head and Ali pushed around.
“The mob started saying that ‘we should be beaten for this” as if covering the event was a crime and being Muslim is a crime,” Ali said.
