The Press Club of India on Saturday criticized the Delhi Police for arresting journalist Rajeev Sharma in an Official Secrets Act case for allegedly passing information on the deployment of the Indian army and the country’s border strategy to Chinese intelligence. He said the police action against Sharma was “overbearing” and “mind-blowing.”
The club called the Delhi Police for his “dubious” record. “We are astonished to hear about the arrest of Rajeev Sharma, a well-known longtime freelance journalist and member of the Press Club of India, “said in a statement. “This is due to the dubious record of the Special Brigade. More generally, too, the Delhi police record is not brilliant. “
The Press Club added that the police had taken action against Sharma based on “questionable considerations.” “Based on the statement by the police released to the media, we do not hesitate to say that the police action is overbearing and may be inspired by obscure or questionable considerations,” he said.
The club added: “Rajeev Sharma’s six-day police pre-trial detention, following his arrest on September 14 under the Official Secrets Law, evidently for transmitting defense-related information to China, also seems mind-boggling. Sharma wrote on strategic matters and may have routinely accessed overclassified information on the Internet that is in the public domain. “
Sharma, a freelance journalist, was arrested on Monday by the Delhi Police Special Cell. They alleged that he was found to be in possession of classified defense-related documents. He was presented in court on Tuesday and placed in police custody for six days.
Police alleged that a Chinese woman and her Nepalese partner were paying Sharma huge amounts of money for classified information. The two women have also been arrested.
Also read: Delhi Police Arrest Independent Journalist Allegedly In Possession Of Classified Documents
The Press Club also gave examples of other journalists who had been falsely implicated in cases based on “fabricated” accusations.
The group also criticized the Delhi Police for arresting students and activists under the strict Illegal Activity (Prevention) Act, in cases related to large-scale community violence that took place in the capital in February. “Lately, the Delhi Police, including its Special Branch, have made absurd arrests under the illegal law called UAPA in which the word of the government is enough to keep an innocent person behind bars for long periods,” he said. “These have occurred in matters related to the protests against the CAA and the carefully designed communal killings in the so-called February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi.”
.
