The Punjab police Friday arrested Times Now Navbharat journalist Bhavana Kishore in a rash driving case. The police arrested her and two other crew members Mrityunjay Kumar and Parminder Singh. The police have invoked provisions of the stringent SC/ST Act along with various sections of the IPC against the scribes.
Punjab police arrested Times Now reporter Bhavana Kishore and wrongly implicated her in an SC-ST case. Bhavana was arrested while she was on her way to report the inauguration of Mohalla Clinics by AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal.@aakaaanksha & @Sabyasachi_13 share the latest updates pic.twitter.com/bJRhr8ciBc
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) May 6, 2023
The arrest came after the Punjab police had detained the Times Now Navbharat journalist for over 7 hours yesterday.
According to the police, the arrest was made after a woman was injured on her right hand when the car they were travelling in collided with her. According to the authorities, the trio was also charged with abusing the victim with casteist slurs.
The police registered a case against the scribes under Sections 279, 337 and 427 of the IPC and Sections 3 and 4 of the SC and ST Act.
In her complaint, Gagan said she was on her way to attend the inauguration of a Mohalla Clinic when a rashly-driven Innova SUV hit her, causing an injury on her right hand. During the accident, her mobile phone also fell and broke.
After the arrest, BJP workers led by Gurdev Sharma Debi reached the police station in support of the journalist. OpIndia tried to contact Gurdev Sharma Debi to get his statement on the issue but his phone was switched off.
Meanwhile, following the arrest, Times Now alleged that their reporter has been falsely implicated in an SC-ST case by the Ludhiana police. Bhavana was arrested while she was on her way to report the inauguration of Mohalla Clinics by AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal.
The channel, hinting at an alleged witchhunt launched against them by the Aam Aadmi Party after their recent “Operation Sheesh Mahal” expose against their supremo Arvind Kejriwal, said that Bhavana was taken away in a car by a male cop before a flimsy FIR was filed against her in Ludhiana’s Section 3 Division Police Station. It was also noted that the said cop was not wearing a nameplate displaying his name while taking Bhavana.
The report by Times Now further said that a second Times Network journalist who reached Ludhiana to cover the event was also stopped from entering the venue.
Punjab police detain Times Now journalist Bhavana Kishore; Group Editor Navika Kumar says intimidated for exposing Arvind Kejriwal
Notably only yesterday (May 5, Friday), Times Network Group Editor Navika Kumar tweeted a video of Punjab police detaining Times Now Navbharat journalist Bhavana Kishore. “I demand that @BhagwantMann & @ArvindKejriwal release @TNNavbharat reporter @BhawanaKishore immediately. Detained by @DGPPunjabPolice for the last 7 hours. Accused of an accident when she was not driving a car. This is serious intimidation of the media.#sheeshmahalBadla”, Navika tweeted.
I demand that @BhagwantMann & @ArvindKejriwal to release @TNNavbharat reporter @BhawanaKishore immediately. Detained by @DGPPunjabPolice for the last 7 hours. Accused of an accident when she was not driving a car. This is serious intimidation of the media.#sheeshmahalBadla pic.twitter.com/cuBoDNKNDt
— Navika Kumar (@navikakumar) May 5, 2023
Navika Kumar alleged that the woman journalist Bhavana Kishore had been detained for the past 7 hours. According to her tweet, Punjab police detained her over allegations of an accident when she was not even driving the car.
Navika further alleged that this is “serious intimidation of the media”. Tweeted this with the hashtag #sheeshmahalbadla”, Navika indicated this was vindictive action against Times Now journalist because they recently did a story exposing how Arvind Kejriwal spend Rs 45 crores of the taxpayer’s money in the construction of a palatial house for himself.
Arvind Kejriwal splurged Rs 45 crores on his mansion
A recent investigation by Times Now Navbharat found that the official bungalow of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in Civil Lines was renovated at a cost of almost Rs 45 crore.
The report, termed “Operation Sheesh Mahal,” said that Rs 44.78 crore of taxpayer funds were utilised for the renovations, raising questions about the Aam Aadmi Party’s commitment to promoting austerity.
