Non-bailable charges under Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on basis of religion, caste, creed, language or place of birth) have been pressed by the West Bengal government against Zee News editor Sudhir Chaudhary, West Bengal correspondent Pooja Mehta and cameraperson Tanmay Mukherjee for their coverage of Dhulagarh riots in Howrah district of West Bengal.

The West Bengal government and the media houses in the state strictly believe that reporting on the recurring communal clashes in the state would aggravate the tensions and lead to further clashes. Not many Bengali or English media based in the state have reported on several riots that occurred in the state in the past few months.