6 months after report, UP journalist held over BJP MP’s complaint

The editor of a local Hindi newspaper has been arrested in Ghaziabad after BJP MP Atul Garg accused him of defamation through a report that was published over six months ago.

The Press Club of India tweeted to urge the Yogi Adityanath government to sensitise the police about how journalists function. “We are concerned over the arrest of Imran Khan, a journalist in Ghaziabad, UP for his reportage. His reportage was based on the coverage of an opposition leader’s press conference during the Lok Sabha election 2024…shooting the messenger has now become a new normal across the country.”

Amid the Lok Sabha poll campaign, Aap AbhiTak had reported on Congress candidate Dolly Sharma’s press conference, where she had accused Garg and his family of land grab, according to The Indian Express.

Garg reportedly filed a defamation complaint against Sharma and Khan on October 6. A case was lodged the same day under sections pertaining to defamation, intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), criminal conspiracy as well as relevant sections of the information technology act.

The BJP MP told The Indian Express that he did not read the full report but the headline had labelled him as “land mafia”. “The report tried to harm my public image and reputation,” he told the paper.

Subhash Chandra, the reporter who filed that report, told The Indian Express that “there was no addition to whatever she (Sharma) said”.

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