Chhattisgarh police claimed to have found evidence on the journalist's phone of him "indulging in prostitution", "obscene chats with both genders" as well as having material and documents of a "confidential nature".
The FIR, lodged on the basis of a complaint by a man claiming to be a Congress worker and Baghel supporter, claims that he intended to spread "negativity".
Why Chhattisgarhâs journalists arenât sold on its mediapersons protection law
They are often targeted by the very officials the proposed law charges with protecting them, the journalists complain.
Journalists in Chhattisgarh protest against violent attacks on members of their fraternity.
The draft Chhattisgarh Protection of Mediapersons Act, publicised early this month, will ensure ânewsgatherersâ are able to do their work without fear of being targeted for it, or so the Bhupesh Baghel government claims. But journalists in the state, especially those working in the violence-ridden Bastar region, argue that the proposed law will do little to shield them from harassment, not least because the Baghel government itself has a track record of going after adversarial journalists.
Chhattisgarhâs proposed journalist protection law to cover freelancers, bloggers
The final draft of the law proposed a jail term of up to a year for anyone found harassing a mediaperson.
11 Dec, 2020
A draft of the proposed Chhattisgarh Protection of Mediapersons Act, submitted to the state government last week, widens the definition of mediapersons âto include all forms of news gathering including photos, video, digital graphics and text contentâ,
Hindustan Times
. The bill proposes a jail term of a year for those found harassing journalists.
According to the draft, freelancers, bloggers and contributors will be covered under the law âprovided the journalist seeking protection has at least three published works in three to six months before making the complaintâ. And journalists who have been paid thrice in the previous six months by a media outlet will also be protected.