The Madhya Pradesh police have registered an FIR against three journalists claiming that they ran false and misleading news of an incident in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhind district.
Police registered a case against local journalists Kunjbihari Kaurav, Anil Sharma and NK Bhatele at Daboh police station after a complaint by Dr Rajeev Kaurav, Medical Officer of Daboh Community Health Centre.
It was alleged that on August 15, the journalists shared a false video of 76-year-old Gya Prasad Vishwakarma from a village in Bhind district who was being taken to the hospital on a handcart.
The news shared by the journalists claimed that even after calling 108, the ambulance did not reach the spot, after which the family members were forced to take the patient on a handcart to the hospital 5 km away.
The report also claimed that the victim is not the beneficiary of government schemes. After the video went viral, the District Magistrate of Bhind, Satish Kumar conducted an inquiry and said that this news was false, as no call was made for the ambulance.
“The son, who owns a cart, would often take his father for medical visits on his cart. He didn’t call 108 for an ambulance. The family is availing of all government benefits including PM Awas Yojna, pension schemes and BPL cards. The news spread by the journalists regarding this matter is false and misleading and following this, an FIR has been registered in Daboh police station,” said the DM.
“An FIR against the three journalists under sections 420, 505 (2) of the IPC and section 66 (F) 1 of the IT Act,” the police informed.
However, the victim alleged that the administrative officers got his signatures on a blank paper.
“They (the officers) threatened me that if I speak anything to the media, they will stop the government’s plans I am getting,” the victim alleged.
