After being named in an FIR at the Fatikroy police station, in Tripura on Sunday, 14 November, HW News Network journalists – Sammriddhi Sakunia and Swarna Jha – have now been reportedly detained by the Assam police.
As per a statement put out by the network, the duo were on their way to Silchar when they were detained.
"Assam Police has said that they don't have any case against our journalists but Tripura Police asked them to detain them... Assam police says our journalists will be taken back to Tripura for further questioning," the network wrote.
Sakunia and Jha were in Tripura covering the recent incident of communal violence in the state.
In a video message, Sakunia questioned the police action and said that the two journalists were being escorted by the Tripura police from the Neelam Bazar police station in Assam, and that they were not shown any order or FIR by the escorting officer.
Meanwhile, IG (Law and Order) Arindam Nath told news agency ANI that the two were detained for "publishing and broadcasting false and fabricated news".
WHAT IS THE FIR PERTAINING TO?
The FIR (first information report), filed on the complaint of one Kanchan Das, alleges that the two "delivered instigating speech against Hindu(s)" while they visited the Paul Bazaar area under the Fatikroy constituency.
He also accused the two of being a part of a "criminal conspiracy" and blamed them for using the name of Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal for damaging a mosque in the area.
WHAT DID THE TWO JOURNALISTS SAY EARLIER?
Sakunia and Jha, meanwhile, have alleged "intimidation" by the cops and have said that they were stopped from leaving their hotel early in the morning.
The duo have been booked under Indian Penal Code sections 120(B) [criminal conspiracy], 153(A) [Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion] and 504 [intentional insult].
"The police arrived yesterday (Saturday) at the hotel around 10:30 at night and served the FIR copy in the morning (Sunday) 5:30 am. We were supposed to leave for the capital Agartala but have been not allowed to move despite full cooperation. There are around 16-17 police deployed outside our hotel," Sakunia wrote on Twitter.
However, the duo were later allowed to go out of the hotel at 8:30 am as per HW News Hindi.
In a video posted by Article 14, Sakunia can also be heard narrating the details where she claims that the police collected their transport details and even asked for their Aadhaar cards despite resistance.
She added that the two have been served with a notice and have been asked to appear before the police on 21 November with their lawyer.
EDITORS GUILD, DIGIPUB CONDEMNS TRIPURA POLICE'S ACTION
Editors Guild of India put out a statement in support of the two journalists and has demanded their immediate release.
In a strongly-worded statement, DIGIPUB News India Foundation condemned the move by Tripura police and wrote, "this is not only a violation of the freedom of the press but also a breach of the fundamental right to privacy".
Sakunia and Jha were in Tripura covering the violence, which broke out in the state following a rally organised by the Vishva Hindu Parishad on 26 October. This protest rally was against the attacks on the Hindus in Bangladesh during Durga Puja.
As per reports, several shops were burnt and a mosque was vandalised in the violence. However, the police has maintained that no mosque was burnt.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)