Sand mafia nexus, jailed cop: Arrest of 4 Bastar journos for ‘15 gms cannabis’ under scanner

Five days after four Bastar journalists were detained by the Andhra Pradesh police at the state border, the Chhattisgarh police arrested its Konta police station in-charge last week for tampering with CCTV footage related to the journalists’ arrest.   

It all began when independent journalist Bappi Rai, Aaj Tak stringer Dharmendra Singh, Manish Singh of India News, and Nishu Trivedi of Swatantra travelled to Konta in south Bastar to investigate the alleged smuggling of sand to Andhra Pradesh. As they interviewed people and recorded videos of suspected vehicles, Konta PS in-charge Ajay Sonkar reached the spot and a brief but heated argument ensued.    

The journalists then stayed the night at a nearby hotel and started for the filling station in the neighbouring Chinturu village in Andhra Pradesh the next morning. At the state border, the Andhra Pradesh police stopped them and found 15 grams of cannabis in their car on August 9. An FIR was registered under the non-bailable Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and the journalists were sent to jail. 

But local journalists termed it a “false case”, claiming that the drugs were planted by the police officers of the two states in collusion with sand mafias. 

After their intervention, the Bastar police found that the Konta cop, Sonkar, had tried to seize the CCTV footage of the journalists’ hotel, which allegedly showed him fidgeting with their car. Soon after his arrest, he also left a suspicious message on a WhatsApp group of journalists and police: “Let netaji know.”

On August 17, two days after the official’s arrest, journalists of at least four states – Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Odisha – demanded a CBI inquiry into the matter. They also sought the withdrawal of the case against the journalists. 

‘We’re attacked for doing our jobs’

The four arrested journalists, each with over a decade of experience in reporting in the region,  are regarded by their peers as “respectable” and those who “go to corners of Chattisgarh that even the police can’t reach at times”. 

“The world knows the kind of conditions we work in, here in Chhattisgarh,” said Dharmendra Mahapatra, secretary of Bastar Zila Patrakar Sangh, which organised the protest in support of the arrested journalists on August 17. “We’re attacked, time and again, for doing our jobs. In this case too, they have been framed falsely, so it is important for us to help them.”

At the protest, the journalists tied black strips over their mouths and arms. They also began raising funds to help the jailed journalists cover the legal fees. So far, they have raised over Rs 3.5 lakh. 

“Our question to the police remains – who planted the cannabis?” asked Salim Sheikh, a journalist from Sukma. “Why was the CCTV stolen? On whose behest? Why has the police not investigated the reason for stealing the footage?”

For journalists in Bastar, ground reporting has always come with risks. “It could be any one of us tomorrow facing such false charges. We’re often caught between the police and the Naxals and are targeted when we expose things that the administration doesn’t want us to,” said Sheikh.

“If you write against the powerful, they can get you involved in any fake case. The reporters will eventually get bail, but what about how the family has suffered?”

Dantewada Press Club president Vinod Singh told Newslaundry: “Journalists of our region often step up to de-escalate matters between the police and Naxals. But how will we continue to raise our voices when the system is against us?”

Law for journos in cold storage

The Congress in Chhattisgarh has sprung into action and set up an internal team to investigate the matter. In a press conference on August 20, state president Deepak Baij said the incident showed that “democracy was in danger” in the state. 

“We condemn the way the journalists have been trapped into this,” said Baij. “We are preparing a report and will decide how to proceed accordingly. Under whose instructions is our sand being transported to Andhra Pradesh?”

However, local journalists pointed to the unfulfilled promises for journalists’ safety made by the Congress during its tenure. Over “routine harassment”, the journalists had urged the then government to introduce a law to ensure their safety. The draft law was prepared in 2020, under a committee led by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Aftab Alam, after several public meetings and consultations with journalists for a year. It was hailed as “pro-journalists” and “progressive”. But the law passed last year was starkly different from the proposed bill, and is yet to be notified. 

Local journalists told Newslaundry that the law “would not benefit media persons”. 

Mahapatra said, “Despite being one of the only states with a law for journalists, we’re unsure how it will benefit us in cases such as these. They held so many meetings with us and took so many suggestions. But the main bill was lacking completely.”

Neeraj Udke, founder of Kondagaon Press Club, said the presence of a law does not negate the immense pressure on journalists. “Police and administration will do what they want to do. This is what journalists have to face when they are trying to expose a scam that has been going on for years. How will we ever raise our voices?”

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Update at 1:04 pm on August 22: The amount of cannabis allegedly found with the journalists has been corrected as per the details in the FIR.