Press Council Of India Raps Andhra Pradesh Police

Vijayawada: The Press Council of India (PCI) on Monday rapped the Andhra Pradesh police for calling 'Sakshi' journalists to the police station and asking them to furnish evidence for the news reports they published about capital city Amaravati.

The PCI said that the state police is resorting to harassment of journalists for continuous coverage of the upcoming capital city of Andhra Pradesh. "The notices issues to the Sakshi journalists by the police contains has objectionable content and the language used too is not appropriate," it said.

The PCI directed the district police officer concerned and the state DGP to appear before it and explain the police stand on the issue. It may be recalled that the Andhra Pradesh Union of Working Journalists (APUWJ) and Indian Journalists' Union (IJU) have already filed petitions with the PCI regarding harassment of Sakshi reporters by the state police.

On Monday, Sakshi executive editor Dileep Reddy and IJU secretary D Amar presented their arguments on the issue to the PCI. After hearing their arguments PCI chairman Justice Chandramauli Kumar Prasad strongly condemned the Guntur rural police officers for issuing notices to the journalists and asking them to furnish evidence for published reports. The police officers present on the occasion gave unsatisfactory reply following which the chairman directed them to submit a detailed explanation from the state DGP within four weeks.