FIR filed minutes before taking in Zee anchor for questioning

While the original FIR did not name Ranjan, Noida Police later booked him under IPC Section 505 (2) (statement conducive to public mischief and enmity). He was arrested and granted bail later on Tuesday.

Zee journalist Rohit Ranjan (File)

The FIR against two former Zee News producers, who the channel had blamed for airing a misleading video of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, was filed at 8.33 am Tuesday, just minutes before the channel’s anchor for the show concerned, Rohit Ranjan, was whisked away.

Noida Police took Ranjan away for questioning even as a Chhattisgarh Police team argued with their UP counterparts outside his house over the due process of arrest.

While the original FIR did not name Ranjan, Noida Police later booked him under IPC Section 505 (2) (statement conducive to public mischief and enmity). He was arrested and granted bail later on Tuesday.

Read | News anchor, BJP’s Rajyavardhan Rathore booked in Jaipur over ‘misleading’ Rahul Gandhi video

The FIR was lodged on the basis of a complaint filed on July 3 by B R Venkataraman, a Zee Media Corporation representative, against the two former producers.

Zee News had apologised for airing a misleading video of Rahul Gandhi, linking his comments on the vandalism carried out by some SFI activists at his MP office in Kerala’s Wayanad to the killing of an Udaipur tailor, for purportedly supporting remarks against the Prophet by now-suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.

Cong approaches broadcasting body

The Congress has approached the News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority seeking action against Zee News and its anchor Rohit Ranjan for having aired a misleading video of Rahul Gandhi linking his comments of the SFI attack at his office in Wayanad to the Udaipur killing over remarks on the Prophet. The Congress has already initiated legal action against the anchor.

Also Read | Rahul Gandhi video: Chhattisgarh and UP police spar over Zee anchor’s arrest

Chhattisgarh Police arrived at Ranjan’s house early Tuesday with a court warrant for arrest, based on a complaint by Congress MLA from Bhilai, Devendra Yadav. The complainant alleged that the channel “edited the clip and ran a false” report to “spread terrorism and break the nation’s unity”.

House locked

A Chhattisgarh Police team visited the residence of Ranjan for the second time early Wednesday and found it locked. “We visited Rohit Ranjan’s home at 9 am today. His house was locked,” Raipur DSP Udayan Behar said. Behar said although a complaint was filed with Indirapuram SHO (in Ghaziabad) regarding events that unfolded at Ranjan’s residence on Tuesday, Ghaziabad police did not issue a receipt of the complaint.

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