Kovai news portal head held, leaders condemn

Andre Sam Raja Pandian, founder of Simplicity.com was arrested on Thursday based on a complaint by M Sundararajan, Assistant Commissioner (personal), Coimbatore Corporation. He was booked under various sections, including 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by a civil servant), 505 (i) (Statements conducing to public mischief) of the IPC and Section 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act. He was lodged at Avinashi sub-jail. The complainant said that the news reports in the portal instigated doctors, health department staff and PDS staff to turn against the government and derail the fight against COVID-19. The journalist associations in Coimbatore and Tirupur condemned the arrest and media persons staged a gagging protest on Friday.

While, DMK president MK Stalin, AMMK general secretary TTV Dhinakaran condemned the arrest, CPM and MNM sought his immediate release.

CPM state secretary K Balakrishnan said that the arrest of the journalist shows the state government’s untruthful approach as the report had brought the issue of the problems faced by doctors to the government’s attention. “After the issue came out, the college dean was transferred out and the official incharge of the food for the PG doctors is facing an enquiry in this regard. But the government has filed a case and lodged the journalist in prison for exposing the issue,” he said in a statement.

He noted that the municipal corporation official filed the complaint at the instigation of the ruling AIADMK and a Minister and hence the government should immediately withdraw the case and release the journalist.

Actor and MNM founder Kamal Haasan termed the arrest of the journalist as an act of dictatorship. In a tweet, he wrote, “Will you imprison a person for telling the truth that Coimbatore doctors did not have food and relief did not reach the public? Rather than correcting the mistakes, it is dictatorial to lodge a person for telling the truth. The fourth pillar of our democracy- media – should not be stopped. Immediately release the imprisoned person (journalist).”