An FIR has been filed at the Link Road police station in Ghaziabad against Arun Rajbhar, National General Secretary, Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) after he threatened senior Doordarshan journalist Ashok Shrivastav on Twitter. Rajbhar has been booked under Section 506, 507 of the Indian Penal Code.
The FIR was filed based on a complaint filed by Ashok Shrivastav with UP Police, wherein he alleged that OP Rajbhar’s son, Arun Rajbhar, had threatened to beat him up. A copy of the complaint was shared by Shrivastav on his Twitter account.
सुभासपा के महासचिव अरुण राजभर ने कल मुझे पीटने की धमकी दी थी l जब हम ऐसी धमकियों को नज़रंदाज़ करते हैं तो ऐसी ताकतों का हौसला बढ़ता हैl फिर यूपी के चुनावों में पत्रकारों को कुछ ज्यादा ही निशाना बनाया जा रहा है, इसलिए @Uppolice @ghaziabadpolice को रिपोर्ट दर्ज करा दी है l pic.twitter.com/7HpMm2Zhbf
— Ashok Shrivastav (@AshokShrivasta6) January 31, 2022
In his complaint, Shrivastav stated that Arun Rajbhar had threatened to beat him up for asking why a reporter was assaulted during a joint conference by SP leader Akhilesh Yadav and RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary in Ghaziabad last week. The DD journalist also attached a picture of a tweet posted by Rajbhar along with his complaint.
Shrivastav, in his complaint, stated that Arun had links with dreaded criminals such as Mukhtar Ansari, and therefore, threats issued by him cannot be taken lightly. Emphasising that the issue was grave, Ashok asked Ghaziabad Police to initiate necessary action.
He also added that he is a resident of UP’s Ghaziabad and was once kidnapped in 2012 by armed abductors, who held him captive for 6 hours before eventually releasing him. Ashok said the kidnapping case is yet to be solved, and therefore, he fears for his safety and that of his family.
SP ally SBSP leader Arun Rajbhar threatens DD News journalist Ashok Shrivastav
On January 30, Ashok Shrivastav, journalist, DD News, took to Twitter demanding action against Arun Rajbhar, National General Secretary, Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP), after he threatened Shrivastav on social media platform Twitter.
In his tweet, Shrivastav said, “Today Akhilesh Yadav’s security personnel beat up a journalist, I wrote against it, OP Rajbhar Ji’s son Arun Rajbhar Ji threatened to beat me up.” He further urged Home Minister, UP Police and Election Commission to take action against Rajbhar. “Please take action in this matter. This is an attack on the media on journalists,” he added.
आज #Akhilesh_Yadav के सुरक्षाकर्मियों ने एक पत्रकार को पीटा, मैंने इसके विरोध में लिखा तो @oprajbhar जी के बेटे @ArunrajbharSbsp जी ने मुझे पीटने की धमकी दी। @HMOIndia @Uppolice @ECISVEEP कृपया इस मामले में कार्यवाही करें। ये पत्रकारों पर मीडिया पर हमला है। pic.twitter.com/UbIBEKzI7H
— Ashok Shrivastav (@AshokShrivasta6) January 30, 2022
Rajbhar, whose party is an ally of the Samajwadi Party (SP) for the upcoming UP Assembly elections, in the now-deleted post, had said, “Journalists like you should be thrashed. You should get a reward for the bootlicking.”
Shrivastav, in a tweet, had condemned the incident in which Akhilesh Yadav’s bodyguards had thrashed journalist Khalid Chaudhary. He had said, “When SP was in power, journalist Jagendra was burnt alive for writing against a minister. Today, bodyguards of Akhilesh Yadav thrashed journalist Khalid Chaudhary in front of him. New SP or same SP?”
This tweet by Shrivastav irked the politician and SP ally who said responded with a threat saying the journalist should be thrashed.