The editor-in-chief of Hindi news channel Sudarshan was arrested at Lucknow airport on Wednesday evening on charges of spreading communal tension in Sambhal district, Uttar Pradesh, and hurting religious sentiments. Addition Director General (law and order) Daljeet Singh Chawdhary said Suresh Chavanke will be produced before a court in Sambhal on Thursday. “We have enough evidence against him,” he told The Times of India.
Sambhal has been on the boil since March 29 when people attacked administrative employees and police officers. IPS officer Ravi Shankar, who has been posted in the district since April 5, said Chavanke has been airing content aimed at stoking communal feelings. An FIR was lodged against Chavanke and his team by Kotwali police station-in-charge Brij Mohan Giri on April 10, reported The Hindu.
The police took cognisance of the matter after citizens pointed out that Sudardhan News had aired shows like Sambhal ko Kashmir banane ki saazish (The plot to make Sambhal like Kashmir) and Hari Mandir ka sach, Jama Masjid ka jhooth (The truth of Hari Mandir, the lies of Jama Masjid) between April 6 and 8.
Apart from Chavhanke, the police have also booked Sambhal Jama Masjid head Itarat Hussain Babar for using foul language in videos against Chavhanke. The police told Hindustan Times that the Congress leader is seen threatening Chavhanke in these videos.
The arrest comes a day before Chavhanke was supposed to visit Sambhal. He had claimed that he would conduct a puja at a temple inside the Jama Masjid, according to Hindustan Times. Chavhanke was in the news earlier a former employee had filed a rape case against him in Noida, in November last year.
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