The weekly current affairs magazine Outlook has once again sought the intervention of Telangana Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan against the continued misuse of state machinery to intimidate the magazine, its correspondent and muzzle press freedom, following the publication of a satirical snippet in its contents last month.
The snippet titled “No Boring Babu” on an unnamed bureaucrat working in the Chief Minister’s office in Telengana, was published in the July 6, 2015 issue. The magazine has since expressed regret twice, both online and in the magazine, for publishing it. The snippet was also removed from Outlook ’s website.
In his letter, dated August 2, the magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Krishna Prasad, has said how the timely direction from the Governor to the Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad, had ensured that the offices of Outlook and its correspondent did not face intimidation from the State police. “However, I regret to inform you that following the registration of a complaint filed by the bureaucrat’s husband, an IPS officer, the Telangana police are once again indulging in acts of intimidation, even as the matter is pending adjudication before the High Court,” writes Mr. Prasad.
“Veiled messages on what awaits our correspondent at the hands of the Hyderabad police have been received,” says Mr. Prasad.
