Last evening, officers from the Jammu and Kashmir Police seized The Wire’s Jehangir Ali’s phone from his home in Charar-i-Sharief town in Budgam district. The Wire called this action an “attempt by the Jammu and Kashmir police and administration to intimidate its correspondent, which is emblematic of the systematic harassment of journalists in J&K.”

In a press statement, The Wire alleged, “Without providing a reason, let alone the details of any FIR, case, warrant or court order, the police officers seized his mobile phone.”

“Contrary to directions issued by the Supreme Court to Central agencies and to universally accepted norms aimed at preserving the integrity of seized electronic devices, they did not provide Jehangir Ali the hash value of the seized phone,” it added. 

The statement noted that documenting the hash value – a unique digital fingerprint generated from data that allows detection of any tampering – is crucial to ensuring that no information is inserted into or removed from his device during the period it remains in custody. 

In its statement, The Wire also stated that the seizure of his phone comes “against the backdrop of his reporting on allegations of nepotism and corruption in the Ratle hydro power project in Kishtwar.” The police raid, it is alleged, came at a time when Ali was “in the midst of another investigative story on the project.”  

The Wire concluded with a demand that Ali’s phone be immediately returned “along with the detailed chain of custody since the time he handed it over.”

Newslaundry called Nikhil Borkar, SSP Budgam; VK Birdi, IG Kashmir; and Ali for comment, but received no response. We will update the story if and when we receive one.

This is the second time in two months that the Jammu and Kashmir Police has taken action against journalists. Last month, the J&K Police’s State Investigation Agency (SIA) carried out searches at the Kashmir Times' head office in Jammu, accusing the newspaper of propagating content allegedly detrimental to the country's sovereignty and a threat to public law and order.

Update: Ali’s phone has now been returned, the journalist posted on X.

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