Jammu and Kashmir authorities sealed off the Srinagar office of Kashmir Times, one of the state’s oldest and most prominent English-language newspapers, on Monday night, sparking outrage in the Valley. Politicians called the action an effort by the central government to silence those who speak out and an attempt to muzzle press freedom in the region.
The sealing comes a week after the Jammu and Kashmir State Department assigned a floor assigned to the editor of the newspaper in Jammu to the brother of a former legislator.
“Today, the Department of the Treasury closed our office without any cancellation and eviction process, in the same way that I was evicted from an apartment in Jammu, where my belongings, including valuables, were turned over to a ‘new assignee'” Anuradha Bhasin, 52, tweeted. executive editor of the Kashmir Times.
Vendetta for speaking! Due process was not followed. How grumpy! she wrote.
Bhasin has openly criticized the government’s communication restrictions when Jammu and Kashmir’s special status was revoked and the region closed on August 5 last year.
He filed a petition with the Supreme Court demanding the reestablishment of communication modes and the adoption of the necessary measures to guarantee the free and safe movement of journalists and media personnel. It was because of his request that the court in January had ordered the administration in Jammu and Kashmir to review the communication restrictions every week.
The newspaper, on its website, wrote that its office in a government building in the Press Enclave that houses several other newspaper offices in buildings of a similar type was “sealed without delivering any notice of cancellation or eviction to the Kashmir Times or following due process. legal. “
“The Estates Department employees who came to the office to close it told the Kashmir Times staff who worked inside to move out. When the management of the Kashmir Times asked for the warrants, the Treasury Department officials said they had no warrants and asked them to approach superior officers, ”he said in a news report.
Also Read: Amid Strong Opposition, JK LG Manoj Sinha Says There Are No Plans To Impose Property Taxes
The deputy director of the Real Estate Department, Mohammad Aslam, said the newspaper occupied two rooms in the Press Enclave, of which the department took over one of them “amicably”.
He said that this quarter had actually been assigned to the late Ved Bhasin, the founder of the Kashmir Times and father of Anuradha Bhasin, on an individual basis, and that after his death his assignment expired and was canceled.
“Your office is operating in another quarter, whereas this quarter it was not under the name of the Kashmir Times. His employees used him for residential purposes and we had requested their vacation about two or three months ago. Yesterday they delivered the installation themselves, ”he said.
Journalists have sympathized with the Kashmir Times and Anuradha Bhasin.
A group of 11 journalists have even offered their professional services free of charge to the organization to support the Kashmir Times editorial team in “sustaining the newspaper in these difficult times.”
“We are aware that the Kashmir Times, and its publisher, have been at the forefront of the fight against government restrictions on communications and press freedom in Kashmir, especially after the crackdown on August 5 last year, when the Most of the local press found itself deficient in reporting. , choosing silence over telling the truth to power.
In view of these government-sponsored intimidation attempts to silence an independent newspaper, we express our solidarity and support to its editors and our colleagues there, ”they said in a statement.
The sealing provoked a harsh reaction from the political leaders of Jammu and Kashmir against the government.
“This explains why some of our ‘esteemed’ publications have decided to become government spokespersons, printing only government press brochures. The price of independent reporting is being evicted without due process, ”tweeted former Prime Minister and Vice President of the National Conference, Omar Abdullah.
Another former senior minister, Mehbboba Mufti, tweeted: “Anuradha was one of the few local newspaper editors at J&K who faced the illegal and disruptive actions of the Government of Israel in the state. Closing their Srinagar office is straight out of BJP’s vendetta playbook to settle scores with those who dare to disagree. “
.
