A day after a man was arrested and charged with sedition for his social media post on power cuts in Chhattisgarh, a journalist was held on Friday for publishing “false” news over electricity supply in Mahasamund district.
Dilip Sharma, who runs an online news portal, was arrested based on a complaint lodged by Executive Engineer (EE) of electricity department, S.K. Sahu, a police officer said.
In his complaint lodged on Thursday, Mr. Sahu had alleged that Mr. Sharma, in a recently published news, had claimed that there was a blackout in more than 50 villages in Mahasamund for 48 hours which was “false and baseless”, Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP), Narad Kumar Suryawanshi said.
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Mr. Sharma was booked under IPC section 505 (1) (b) (with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public), he said.
The journalist was produced in a local court which granted him bail, the police said.
Talking to the media after his release, Mr. Sharma alleged that he was being implicated in a false case.
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‘Authentic’ news
He claimed he had published an “authentic” news about the blackout for 48 hours in villages of Bagbahra area in Mahasamund from June 6 to June 8.
Additional General Manager (Public Relations) of Chhattisgarh State Power Holding Company Vijay Mishra said according to the State government’s policy, the power utility has been supplying electricity 24X7 in all cities and villages. Some anti-social elements were trying to defame power company. he alleged.
CM’s damage control
Earlier on Thursday, 53-year-old Mangelal Agarwal was arrested in Rajnandgaon district and charged with sedition for allegedly spreading rumours over power cuts on a social media platform.
However, facing criticism over the action, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel directed the police to withdraw charges of sedition.