While several social media accounts have been blocked, the police have also raided the homes and seized the mobile phones of journalists and lawyers. Activists have slammed the action, accusing the government of trying to silence critical voices.
While the Punjab police’s efforts to arrest pro-Khalistan leader Amritpal Singh have been in the headlines for the past week, there is also a parallel crackdown on journalists, lawyers and rights activists in the state.
The Punjab police launched an operation to arrest Amritpal and other leaders of Waris Punjab De on March 18. While hundreds of people have been detained, Amritpal remains at large – and is believed to have slipped past the state’s border.
Initially, there was concern about the social media accounts of Punjab-based journalists, intellectuals and politicians getting blocked by the police. A week later, these accounts remain suspended and the net has been widened. Not only residents of Punjab but the social media platforms of lawmakers, journalists and news organisations based in Canada – where the Sikh diaspora is influential – have also been targeted over the past week.
While similar action was taken during the farmers’ protest against the three farm laws, the police have also raided homes, seized mobile phones and detained activists – some of whom have reported on the Amritpal episode and others who seemingly have no connection with the development. Activists and media organisations have slammed the move, accusing the government of silencing anti-establishment voices.
Journalists, lawyers targeted
On the morning of March 24, a Mansa-based female journalist’s house was raided by the police. Harsharan Kaur told The Wire that she was not at her house when the raid took place at 5:30 am. “As I was not at home, they informed my brother that I was wanted for questioning in connection with Amritpal’s case. Later, they asked my brother to appear before the police,” she said.
Kaur runs Khalas TV, a YouTube channel from Mohali and earlier worked with mainstream News channels like ABP Sanjha, PTC News and Zee News Punjabi. She said, “I have not even interviewed Amritpal or for that matter any of his family members. I am shocked, as my team has been doing research-based ethical journalism with a special focus on human rights violations.”
Among Twitter handles which have been blocked in the past week are Kamaldeep Singh Brar, senior staff correspondent of Indian Express in Amritsar; independent journalist Sandeep Singh, who shot to fame with his round-the-clock coverage of the farmers’ protest; Akal channel’s reporter Tajinder Singh; Sikh religious leader Baba Banta Singh; and SAD (Amritsar) president Simranjit Singh Mann; and author Rupi Kaur.
The Twitter account of Gagandeep Singh the bureau head of the Chandigarh-based Pro Punjab news channel was also blocked. He said, “I received a message that says, ‘This account has been withheld in India in response to a legal demand.’ My Twitter account, like others, was blocked under Section 69 of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000.”
Noted human rights advocate Jaspal Singh Manjhpur shared a list of the 154 people who have been arrested in connection with the crackdown on Amritpal on his Facebook page. He was detained by the Ludhiana police on March 22 and released on a personal bond the same night.
Talking to The Wire, Jaspal Singh Manjhpur said that he had shared the list with the aim of providing legal assistance to the families of the accused, but the police picked him up from his Ludhiana residence at around 5:30 pm. “The SHO of Ludhiana Sadar informed me that I was taken into preventive detention under sections 107 and 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). They wanted to keep me overnight at the police station but when I informed other lawyers, word was and I was released,” he said.
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https://thewire.in/rights/
