Kochi. In a brazen violation of Press freedom, the Kochi City Police has implicated Asianet News chief reporter Akhila Nandakumar, who has been relentlessly reported on the Maharaja’s College mark list controversy.
The police action was based on a complaint lodged by the Left-backed SFI State Secretary PM Arsho’s complaint, claiming a conspiracy against him. What’s shocking is that the complaint was taken at face value and Akhila Nandakumar was booked without even conducting a preliminary investigation.
Maharaja’s College Principal V S Joy and Department of Archeology head Dr Vinod Kumar are the first two accused. KSU State President Aloysius Xavier and KSU Maharaja’s Unit President CA Faisal are the third and fourth accused.
There is widespread condemnation of the Kerala Police action against Asianet News chief reporter in Kochi, Akhila Nandakumar, for merely reporting on the mark list controversy in Maharaja’s College.
Political leaders have alleged that the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front government is trying to curb the freedom of the media in the state.
The Kochi Police even formed a special investigation team to probe the case based on Arsho’s complaint. They took the statements of the first two accused, Maharaja’s College Principal VS Joy and Department of Archeology head Dr. Vinod Kumar. They allegedly testified that the mark list controversy against the SFI state secretary was only a technical glitch and there was no conspiracy.
The Kochi Police’s action to include the Asianet News chief reporter as one of the accused in the alleged conspiracy case has sparked a wave of condemnation.
