Journalist alleges threats from ex-IAS officer over Baksa report; CM, Congress react
Police says a case has been registered based on the complaint, and an investigation has begun
Bureaucrat’s son,an APS officer posted in Baksa, was caught on camera baton-charging peaceful protesters. (AT Image)
Guwahati, Nov 22: A journalist from a Guwahati-based satellite channel has filed a police complaint accusing a former bureaucrat of threatening him and his family over a recently broadcast news report.
The scribe, Rana Deka, in his complaint to the Senior Superintendent of Police, Bajali, alleged that retired IAS officer Hitesh Dev Sarma abused him over the phone regarding a news item on the situation outside Baksa jail.
A police officer said a case has been registered based on the complaint, and an investigation has begun.
Notably, five accused in the death case of cultural icon Zubeen Garg are lodged in Baksa jail, where violence erupted when they were taken to the prison last month.
The bureaucrat’s son, an Assam Police Service (APS) officer currently posted in Baksa, was on duty outside the jail to control the situation and was caught on camera baton-charging peaceful protesters.
Deka alleged that the ex-IAS officer pressured him to declare that the broadcast video was “morphed” and threatened him with “dire consequences” if he refused.
He also claimed the officer threatened to harm his eight-year-old son.
The incident has sparked a political storm, with Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Gaurav Gogoi condemning the alleged threat and calling it an “illegal and criminal act”.
“Regarding this incident, what has Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma done? I want to know what the Home Department is doing when an IAS officer threatens a journalist. We strongly condemn this act and demand clarification and action. All these tactics of intimidation have been encouraged by Sarma, who also holds the Home portfolio,” Gogoi said.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, responding to queries about the allegation, said he had reviewed the matter and claimed the tone of the audio conversation sounded “as if they are friends”.
“I listened to the audio clip yesterday, and it seemed as if they had been long-time friends,” the Chief Minister said during his visit to Abhayapuri on Saturday.
On the lack of formal protection mechanisms for journalists, Sarma remarked, “If a PSO is required, we will give one,” and hinted at the possibility of introducing a dedicated safety scheme for journalists.
With inputs from PTI