Mandeep Punia, a journalist arrested from the Singhu border last Saturday, was released late on Wednesday after getting bail from Delhi's Rohini court.
Coming out of jail, Mandeep Punia has said that he will continue to perform his duty towards journalism as before. Mandeep Punia is covering the ongoing farmer's movement on the borders of Delhi.
The Delhi Police arrested him from the Singhu border last Saturday. He was charged with obstructing the work of a government employee, assaulting a government employee, willfully disrupting and interfering with illegal acts.
Delhi Police has registered a case against him under sections 186, 353, 332, and 341 of the Indian Penal Code.
What is the matter?
Punia's arrest was revealed through a viral video on Saturday evening in which the police were seen trying to pull a person away.
After this, the reporters started tweeting about Mandeep Punia that the police have arrested him. But people could not get the information till Sunday morning where they were taken.
The Metropolitan Magistrate, while hearing the matter on Sunday, sent him to judicial custody for 14 days. After this, Mandeep Punia was imprisoned in Tihar's Central Jail no.
Meanwhile, journalists and independent journalists from the Editors' Guild to all institutions took out a march protesting the move of the Delhi Police.
After this, Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Satbir Singh Lamba of Rohini Court granted him bail on Tuesday on a personal bond of Rs 25,000.
After being released from jail, what did Punia say?
After being released from Tihar, Mandeep Punia has raised a big question, thanking the court for his bail.
He has said that he is grateful to the court for bail, but the important question is whether he should have been arrested?
Coming out of jail, Mandeep Punia spoke to BBC correspondent Prashant Chahal.
Punia says, "I would like to thank all the journalists who stood by me. Our country is in great need at this time for honest reporting. But at a time when the government is trying to hide something from the people, do journalism becomes difficult. The power knows the truth, but the truth should be known to the people. The profession of journalism is not a glamorous profession. It is a difficult task and this difficult task is not only in India, but the world Is being done with great honesty in many countries. "
After being released from jail, Punia showed the notes written on her leg in a conversation with a private news TV channel. He said that these are the notes of the jailed peasant protesters, which he will write in his report.
Puniya tweeted on Thursday morning that what he has done to the police has spoiled his precious time.
He writes, "As a journalist, it was my responsibility to report this movement truthfully and honestly. I was trying to do so. I know about the people involved in attacking the farmers at the movement site Trying to plant. My work was interrupted by the arrest and my valuation was spoiled. I think I was wrong. The police stopped me from doing my work. That is my regret. Not the violence that happened to me It happened. This incident has strengthened my resolve to report. Reporting from Ground Zero is the most risky, but most important part of journalism. "
What did the court say in its order?
While granting bail to Mandeep Punia, the court has emphasized that it is not proper to keep the accused in judicial custody.
The court also commented on the long gap between the incident of alleged scuffle between Punia and the policemen at the Singhu border and the time the FIR was lodged.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Satbir Singh Lamba, in the order of the surety, wrote, "It is important to mention here that the incident of alleged scuffle occurred at around 18:30, while the FIR took place the next day at 1:21 pm. Not only this, the complainant, the victim, And the witness is the policeman itself. So there is no possibility that the accused / applicant can influence any policeman. The accused is an independent journalist. No recovery will be affected by the accused person. So the accused is judged Detention is not fair. It is a legal principle that surety is a rule and prison is an exception. "
But Punia is not the first journalist to have an FIR covering the farmer movement.
At this time, FIRs have been registered against senior journalists like Rajdeep Sardesai and young journalists.
In such a situation, this question arises how difficult it is to do journalism in India.
How safe is journalism in India?
India's position in the Press Freedom Rank, an international list of 180 countries around the world, has been steadily falling in terms of the freedom given to journalists for their work.
In this list of international body 'Reporters Without Borders', India was ranked 136th in the year 2017, while in the year 2020, India has been ranked 142.
In the year 2020, the organization had said about India that the freedom of the press in India has been violated continuously.
The institution said that police violence on journalists, attack of political activists, retaliation has been taken by criminal groups or corrupt local officials.
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