Two IBN 7 journalists were targetted and roughed up by senior police officers from the Lucknow administration on Sunday night. Senior reporter Shalabh Mani Tripathi was picked up and taken to the police station at 11 PM without any reason being cited.
Shalabh has been relentlessly tracking Dr Sachan's death and also highlighting the loopholes in the probe and the versions given by the government.
First the Uttar Pradesh government said that the Deputy Chief Medical Officer YS Sachan had committed suicide. But the government was forced to retract this version and register his death as a case of murder under pressure not just from the family but even from the medico legal fraternity within the Uttar Pradesh government and beyond.
Within hours of this move, IBN7 journalists Shalabh Mani Tripathi and Manoj Tripathi, who had been relentlessly tracking this story were picked up from the IBN 7 office at 11 PM on Sunday night and roughed up. Manoj Tripathi however managed to escape.
"The two cops threatened me for writing against the administration. It clearly seems that Uttar Pradesh government is under pressure," said shalabh Tripathi.
Shalabh Mani was taken straight to the Hazratganj police station by an additional SP and a circle officer, but had to be released after hundreds of media persons from Uttar Pradesh arrived at the police station.
"The two cops ordered their junior officers to put me in the locker and beat me up. But the junior officers refused. When reporters gathered around the police station, the two cops ran away," said Shalabh Tripathi.
Angry journalists then marched to the Chief Minister's residence where her secretary, DIG and DM tried hard to pacify the reporters
The officials were clearly in damage control mode.
"I would like to assure the journalists in Uttar Pradesh that they are completely safe and there is no crackdown on them," said Anil Kumar, DM.
"If the allegation is correct then what those two officers have done is totally wrong," said DIG DS Thakur.
The secretary to the chief minister promised strict action against the officers who had picked up Shalabh Mani.
"We have received a complaint. We will register a case. In the mean time we have removed those officers and suspended them," said Navneet Sehgal.
Though action has been taken against the concerned officers, the big question is why did the two officers act in this way. Was it the government�s prerogative or just high handedness on the part of the officials?
The Uttar Pradesh government says that it was the result of a minor argument between journalists and the police, but clearly its not that simple. Not only does this incident expose the high handedness of the police but also raises questions about the freedom of speech the media has in Maya land.
Meanwhile, a rattled Mayawati government was forced to suspend the police officers who ordered the roughing up of IBN 7 Journalist Shalabh Mani Tripathi on Sunday night.