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A Jaipur-based activist has been arrested in Gandhinagar for allegedly issuing defamatory statements against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath that were published in a local vernacular weekly e-newspaper in Gujarat.
According to police, Sanjay Garg, a resident of Jaipur, who is a social activist and vice-president of Rajasthan-based Swatantra Bharat Party, was arrested by personnel of Sector 21 police station in Gandhinagar, after vernacular e-newspaper, Padkar News, allegedly carried a report on May 30.
Garg was picked up from his residence in Durga Park of Jaipur on June 4 and brought to Gandhinagar.
Police have booked Laxmikant Parmar, editor of Padkar News e-paper, and Garg under Indian Penal Code section153 for wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riots and 153a for promoting enemity between different groups on grounds of religion or race, place of birth or language, as well as various other sections.
Tarun Duggal, superintendent of police, Gandhinagar, told The Indian Express, “Sanjay Garg has been arrested by Gandhinagar police and he is under police remand. The case is under investigation.”
According to police, RC Kharadi, sub-inspector with sector 21 police station, filed a complaint that on May 30, a policeman with the “survelliance squad” received the PDF of Padkar News e-paper on his cellphone. The complaint said that the e-paper carried a defamatory news story about PM Modi and CM Yogi on page 4 with quotes from Sanjay Garg.
“The main aim of newspapers is to inform and create awareness among people. By not following the ‘norms of journalists’ by the Press Council of India, the weekly newspaper used words to defame PM Modi and CM Yogi to create a feeling of ill will among people… Without any proof, the newspaper published fake, imaginary accusations against the two leaders,” read the complaint by Kharadi.
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