Journalist booked in IoK over WhatsApp status
JournalismPakistan.com | Published: 7 June 2021
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Sajid Raina, a local journalist, was booked for his WhatsApp status about a tragic incident in 2006. The Kashmir News Observer calls attention to ongoing media harassment.Summary
SRINAGAR—Police in Indian-Occupied Kashmir have booked a local journalist, Sajid Raina, over a WhatsApp status.
The Bandipora correspondent of the Kashmir News Observer (KNO) news agency said that he received a phone call from police station Bandipora about the FIR.
“I was shocked to hear that an FIR has been lodged for keeping a simple WhatsApp status about 20 children who died on May 30, 2006 when their boat capsized in Wular Lake. This is really shocking. I don’t know what was wrong with my WhatsApp status,” he said.
A KNO copy editor was also called to the police station Bandipora for a tweet about shifting of oxygen plant and non-functioning of ventilators at the District Hospital, Bandipora. The editor was investigated over his tweets.
The Kashmir News Observer urged the Kashmir Press Club and other media organizations to take note of the issue, as the journalists in the peripheral areas are being harassed day in and day out on one pretext or the other.
Key Points
- Sajid Raina faced police action over a WhatsApp status regarding child deaths in 2006.
- A KNO editor was also investigated for tweets about local medical facilities.
- The Kashmir Press Club is urged to address the harassment of journalists.
- This incident highlights ongoing challenges for media professionals in peripheral areas.
- The FIR surprised Raina, who questioned the grounds for police action.
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