Delhi-based journalist, Prashant Kanojia was arrested by Uttar Pradesh police on Saturday for sharing a post that was considered ¡®objectionable¡¯ on Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on social media.
On the same day, the chief of a private television news channel and its editor too were arrested in Noida for airing allegedly defamatory content on Yogi Adityanath.
A police officer filed a complaint in Lucknow and the Kanojia¡¯s arrest was made right after, alleging that he tried to ¡°malign¡± the CM¡¯s image.
Kanojia had shared a video on Twitter where a woman is seen speaking to reporters of various media organisations outside Yogi Adityanath's office, claiming that she had sent him a marriage proposal.¡¯
He has been arrested on the charges including Sections 500 (defamation) and 505 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act.
The arrest of the journalist has triggered massive protests on social media with several pointing out the charges are baseless and that the post wasn¡¯t ¡°objectionable.¡±
Kanojia¡¯s wife said the men who picked him up were in plain clothes but identified themselves as policemen.