Reporter channel and journalist Sujaya Parvathy booked for promoting religious enmity
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Kochi: An FIR has been lodged against the Malayalam news channel Reporter and one of its journalists, Sujaya Parvathy, for allegedly promoting enmity between different religious groups in their coverage of the blasts that took place in Kochi's Kalamassery on October 29.
The case was registered by the Thrikkakara police under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Kerala Police Act, including sections 153 (provocation with intent to cause a riot), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on religious grounds), 34 (criminal acts by several individuals with a common intention), and 120(o) (causing a nuisance through any means of communication), reported The News Minute.
The complainant, Yasir Arafath, has accused Reporter channel and Sujaya of attempting to disrupt communal harmony in Kerala and incite riots through their reporting on the Kalamassery blasts. He alleged that the channel and the journalist connected the incident to the Palestinian genocide and attempted to drag the Muslim community into it, thereby sowing seeds of communal discord in society.
The incident in question involved multiple explosions at a Jehovah's Witnesses convention held in Kalamassery, resulting in the deaths of three individuals, including a 12-year-old girl, and leaving more than 30 others injured.
Law enforcement promptly issued warnings against the spread of any provocative content or reports related to the incident that could disturb communal harmony. Deputy General of Police Sheikh Darvesh Sahib assured that stringent action would be taken against any fake messages.
Some misleading posts had surfaced, erroneously associating Jehovah's Witnesses with Jews and insinuating that the attackers were Muslim sympathisers of the Palestinian cause. However, a man named Dominic Martin voluntarily surrendered to the police, claiming responsibility for the attacks. Martin had been a member of Jehovah's Witnesses but had become disillusioned with its teachings.