New Delhi: Indian Journalists Union (IJU) condemns the arrest of Tushar Kharat, the editor of
Lay Bhari, a local YouTube channel, from Mumbai on March 9. The Satara police
arrested Tushar Kharat, from Mumbai on March 9.
According to the police, state rural development minister Jaykumar Gore in his
complaint stated that Kharat uploaded defamatory content against him on his
news channel pertaining to the 2016 case and threatened him that he would
“fabricate” more such cases with the help of two-three women and sought Rs 5
crore to settle the issue. Some opposition leaders recently demanded Gore’s
resignation over allegations of him harassing a woman and sending
objectionable photos to her. The state rural development minister has dismissed
the charges. Gore submitted breach of privilege notices against Shiv Sena (UBT)
MP Sanjay Raut, NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar and Tushar Kharat, accusing them of
defaming him.In a statement IJU President and former member of Press Council
of India Geetartha Pathak and IJU Secretary General also Vice President of
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Sabina Inderjit said that Tushar Kharat
has published a story on the basis of allegations in the floor of state assembly by
some opposition leaders, therefore arresting the journalist for publishing a story
related to a state assembly proceedings is not a crime. Allegation of breach of
privilege against the journalist for his/her reportage is unacceptable. IJU leaders
demand release of the journalist and also urged the government to drop all
charges against Tushar Kharat.
