Hours after getting bail from a Shopian courtroom and days after securing bail from a particular courtroom, journalist Fahad Shah was arrested for the third time in a month Saturday night. The most up-to-date arrest, by the Srinagar police, is in reference to a case pertaining to his journal’s reporting of an encounter within the metropolis in May 2020.
As per an announcement from the journal, whereas granting bail to Fahad, Shopian Justice of the Peace Sayeem Qayoom famous: “In a barbaric society you may hardly ask for bail, in a civilized society you may hardly refuse it. In different phrases, ‘bail is a rule and its refusal is an exception’.”
Shah, the Editor-in-chief of the net information journal, ‘thekashmirwalla’, was arrested on February 4 this 12 months by the Pulwama police. He was granted bail by a particular courtroom underneath the NIA Act after 22 days in custody, on February 26. Subsequently, he was arrested by the Shopian police and was granted bail on Saturday.
Currently, he’s lodged on the Safakadal police station at Srinagar and his lawyer is about to maneuver bail once more.
In an announcement, the Jammu and Kashmir Police had famous that journalist Fahad Shah was wished in three instances for “glorifying terrorism, spreading fake news & inciting general public for creating law and order (L&O) situations.”
The 33-year-old was arrested for social media posts “tantamount to glorifying the terrorist activities and causing dent to the image of law enforcing agencies besides causing ill-will & disaffection against the country.”
The arrest in Shopian, on the heels of his first bail, got here in a case filed by the Army in opposition to two information portals together with ‘thekashmirwalla’ underneath Sections 153 (provocation with intent to trigger riot) and 505 (statements conducive to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code in January final 12 months. This got here after a report revealed within the journal, alleging an area military unit “of forcing an Islamic seminary school to hold Republic Day celebrations on January 26” in Shopian.
Meanwhile, a 3rd FIR was filed in Pulwama police station after Shah’s journal revealed a narrative quoting relations of one of many deceased militants denying police claims. The police had contested the claims made within the report.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
