Police have registered an FIR against four journalists for allegedly entering a police station in Gujarat’s Rajkot in an attempt to carry out a “sting operation”.
The journalists, three reporters and a photographer, entered the Rajkot taluka police station on the night of December 1 to carry out a sting operation in connection with a fire accident that occurred at a Covid-19 hospital in Rajkot in which five patients died on November 27, an official said adding that the four journalists allegedly entered the prohibited area without due permission.
On December 2, a news report along with photographs was published in a local newspaper (where the four journalists work) claiming that three of the accused in the hospital fire tragedy case, were given VIP treatment and kept in a police staff room, instead of being locked up, the official said. The journalists also shot some videos of the police station and circulated them on various social media platforms, he added.
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The official further said that the three accused in the fire incident case were brought to the Rajkot taluka police station on November 30 and were taken to a separate room for questioning and not given any VIP treatment.
An FIR was registered on Friday against the four journalists under Indian Penal Code Sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) and 114 (abettor present when offence committed), and under provisions of the Information Technology Act, the official said adding that no arrest has been made so far.
