J&K Police Initiates Inquiry Against ‘The Caravan’ Journalist Who Terms It ‘Harassment’

A journalist with a news magazine has alleged that he was being harassed by the Jammu and Kashmir Police over his article on the Army's interference in activities in Kashmir Valley, a charge denied by the force which said it had received a complaint against him for putting lives of some prominent individuals in danger.

The journalist, Shahid Tantray of 'The Caravan', issued a statement that he and his family were intimidated by the police for writing articles on daily developments in Kashmir.

Tantray had put out an article in the June issue of the magazine claiming that the Army was staging peace marches to project normalcy in the valley and had named some of the corporators and peace activists working on behalf of the Army.

He claimed that he was being summoned by the police without any proper documents.

"...kindly issue me an appropriate notice under Section 41A, CrPC. Upon receipt of the same, I said I would join the investigation and cooperate fully," he said in the statement released to the media.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police tweeted from its verified handle that "a complaint has been received from many prominent persons against one reporter, namely Shahid Tantray, for his article "False Flags" in Caravan. It is alleged that the article names them in mischievous manner which is akin to giving targets to terror groups and puts them in danger."

"In past, many prominent personalities like Shujaat Bukhari have been targeted & killed due to similar articles focussed on certain personalities in blogs like Kashmir Fight etc. Inquiry into allegations and reasons for naming these persons has started led by a DySP rank officer," the police said.

Senior police officials said that the persons named in the article were feeling threatened to step out of their homes as they fear that they may be the next target of terror groups.

(With PTI inputs)