One more case was registered against Zee 24 Gantalu by the Hyderabad Police over the news story the TV news channel had telecast on DGP V. Dinesh Reddy meeting a godman in the Old City while the channel’s crime reporter, V. Satyanarayana, was questioned by investigators on Monday.
The fresh case was registered by the Nampally police following a complaint lodged by godman Habib Mustafa Idrus Baba’s follower Mohd. Shameemuddin. The complainant, naming the channel’s chief executive officer (CEO) Faheem and Satyanarayana, charged that the story telecast by the channel outraged religious feelings of some people. It amounted to public mischief also, he contended.
Based on the complaint, the Nampally police invoked sections 295-A (acts intending to outrage religious feelings of any class) and 505 (statements conducting to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code. These two sections and section 500 (defamation) were used in one of the two cases already registered by the Hussainialam police after the godman’s son filed a complaint. The Nampally police issued notices in the names of the CEO and the crime reporter and delivered them at the channel’s office instructing to present themselves for recording their statements. Satyanarayana was questioned for nearly five hours by the investigators was to his role in telecasting the story.
Meanwhile, the police said they are looking out for Mr. Faheem.
