Mail News Service
Jamshedpur, July 21: “Journalists who uphold the voices and plight of the people and thereby expose the darker aspects of reality become the central government’s targets. Scribes have to overcome challenges, pressures and various other trials and tribulations to expose the truth,” stated Congress party’s national spokesman and formed Jamshedpur MP Dr Ajoy Kumar in a press communiqué on Wednesday, July 21.
In his relase, Dr Kumar cited the example of Ramgarh pen-pusher Rupesh Kumar Singh who had been the victim of the spyware used by the central government. Rupesh Kumar Singh had written about a fake encounter that had accounted for the life of a poor Adivasi resident of Giridih’s Parasnath Hill, Motilal Baskey. The report had created a furor in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and accusing fingers were pointed at the treasury benches. The report also led to a protest movement in Jharkhand. The Congress party’s national spokesman mentioned that the impact of the news report by Rupesh Kumar Singh did not go down well with the government and his phone was tapped and monitored and he was arrested under the UAPA Act.
Referring to a report from ‘The Wire,’ the former parliamentarian mentioned that after reporting the 2017 incident of Jharkhand police killing an innocent Adivasi man, journalist Rupesh Kumar Singh’s three phone numbers appeared on the database through use of spy software.
In his communiqué, Dr Ajoy Kumar observed, “The job of our journalists has never been a bed of roses. They face challenges and pressures in their determined bid to expose truth. The journalists have been made targets on several occasions and it is time to rise in unison at a national level to protest such attacks on the fourth pillar of the nation.”
Dr Ajoy Kumar has written to the Jharkhand Chief Minister requesting that a compensation of Rs 10 lakh be paid to journalist Rupesh Kumar Singh for the mental torture he had to undergo to expose the truth.
