Suvendu Adhikari, Anandbazar patrika journalist and Mamata Banerjee, CM of Bengal (from left to right, Telegraph and X)
On September 7, the leader of the opposition and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) West Bengal MLA Suvendu Adhikari shared news clippings and copies of the FIR condemning the state government for their unjust action. As per the information, a journalist working for Anandbazar Patrika was arrested by the West Bengal police for his alleged reporting against the hooch (an alcoholic drink) traders in Kharagpur. The journalist has been identified as Debmalya Bagchi.
In his Tweet Adhikari narrated the cronology of events that led to the arrest of the journalist. He wrote, On 27th August 2023, the Kharagpur edition of Anandabazar Patrika published a report highlighting hooch traders operating from houses in the residential area of Sanjoal in Ward No 24 of Kharagpur Municipality.
In his post on platform X, Adhikari wrote, “The article highlighted the efforts made by Smt. Basanti Das and the other ladies of the locality tried their best to lawfully obstruct the illegal trade which was catering to teenagers and poisoned the environment so much that women weren’t feeling safe. They sought help from the Police, local Councillor and chairperson of the Municipality, but everyone was reluctant to act.”
“The article created ripples as the inaction of the Police and administration and illegal Hooch business operations within residential area got highlighted. Police detained a few drunkards to contain public outrage but the main operators managed to hide,” Adhikari’s Tweet further read.
It’s interesting to note that on August 28, the family members of hooch dealers filed a complaint against the women who had initially gone to the police to report the illicit activity. An FIR was then registered under sections 3(1)(r)(s) of the IPC with sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 was also invoked. The complainant claimed in the complaint made on August 27 that the women had attacked them and were using sexist language. Additionally, she claimed that the woman had injured her by yanking her clothing.
On 7th September, Anandabazaar Patrika published another report highlighting the hooch dealers’ attack on Basanti Das and other complainants. The report highlighted that seven houses in the neighbourhood are involved in the illegal hooch trade. The women have been complaining for more than two years, but neither the police nor the administration have done anything about it.
The dealers reportedly encircled the complainants’ homes and kicked in the doors. They demanded that the complaint be dropped. The woman called the police, but it took them almost an hour to show up. The police asserted that they arrived at the scene quickly after getting the call, though.
Questioning the silence on the arrest of the journalist, Adhikari wrote, “Journalist arrested by Police in West Bengal. No media outrage & condemnation by the pseudo-liberal & intellectual brigade, as the said Journalist doesn’t have any PFI link,”
He further added, “I can understand the compulsion of Anandabazar & ABP Media house. Their stoic silence is directly correlated to their dependency on the Advertisements and revenues allocated by the Mamata Banerjee government Freedom of Press & Police action on Journalism can take a backseat for now”.
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