The Editors Guild of India on Monday called on the Mumbai police to stop victimising journalists of Republic TV by filing FIRs against them , while also stating that the channel should start behaving responsibly.
The Editors Guild said in a statement that it was “pained to see the unedifying spectacle of hundreds of FIRs being filed against journalists of the Republic TV, which is under probe for allegedly manipulating TRPs and spreading discontent against the Mumbai police”.
The Guild said: “We do not wish to influence the probe by the authorities, even if we recognise it has the potential to bring in much needed transparency on the manipulation of popularity, and creation of ‘proceeds of crime’ - as claimed by the police; but the victimisation of the journalists should immediately stop. The use of arbitrary state power is not and has never been in the interests of working journalists.”
The Guild said the ongoing standoff between the channel and the Mumbai Police was unprecedented.
“Besides the unsavoury details pertaining to the manipulation of TRPs, Republic TV’s high-strung conduct during the unfortunate demise of film actor Sushant Singh Rajput also raises issues about media credibility and the limits to reporting...It is high time the channel behaves responsibly and not compromise the safety of its journalists as well as hurt the collective credibility of media,” the statement said.
The Guild said the police should not hurt the journalists while investigating or making arrests.
