Republic staff booked over ‘false report’ on Mumbai police chief

MUMBAI: The Mumbai Police on Friday registered a fresh FIR against Republic TV’S executive editor, anchor, two reporters and other editorial staff for allegedly broadcasting “false and baseless news” inciting disaffection among police personnel against its chief Param Bir Singh and maligning the force’s image, even as the channel termed it a san“assault on media rights”.

The FIR — the fourth against Republic TV so far — was registered by the Special Branch-1, the intelligence wing of the city police, at NM Joshi Marg police station. The complainant, Shashikant Pawar, a sub-inspector at the SML that monitors content on social media platforms and television channels, alleged that on October 22 the news channel broadcast ed a show about a “revolt” against the Mumbai Police commissioner by senior police officers, and that this amounted to incitement to disaffection among members of the police force and defamation.

The police charged re pub li ctv anchor shiva ni gupta, senior as sociateeditor Sagarika Mitra, deputy editor Shawan Sen and executive editor Niranjan Narayanswami under section 3(1) of The Police (Incitement to Disaffection) Act, 1922, and sections 500 (defamation) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code. Republictv, inastatement, said the firs were the “most grave attack on the freedom of press”. “Never before has the entire editorial team ... been booked in one FIR,” it said.