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Employees of online channel ‘marunadan malayali’ allege police high-handedness over raids at their residences
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, KERALA: Employees of the online media group Marunadan Malayali, have alleged police high-handedness and vendetta by the ruling left government in Kerala.
The allegations came after police raided the offices and residences of the employees across the state in connection with a case against its proprietorship-cum editor, Shajan Skariah.
Skariah was accused of making derogatory statements against an MLA named Sreenijan during the telecast on May 23.
The Kerala high court had rejected Shajan Skariah’s appeal against the rejection of anticipatory bail in the MLA’s complaint under the SC/ST Act. He then approached the Supreme Court for a stay order. The police have issued a lookout notice for Skariah, who is on the run.
Kerala Government Stifling Freedom of Expression.
Employees of ‘Marunadan Malayali’ online media allege police high-handedness and vendetta by the ruling left government over alleged derogatory comments against an MLA.
Reports @Viveknarayan805 (1/2) pic.twitter.com/VeVCJmHAxE
— The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) July 4, 2023
The management of the YouTube channel has maintained that the charges against the editor are false. They said that Skariah has not made any cast-related comments and has only raised allegations that are already in the public domain.
Meanwhile, the Kerala Union Working Journalists (KUWJ) has condemned the police raids that were conducted at the residences of the employees. KUWJ also condemned the detention of employees of the YouTube channel for the case against its editor.
Raids were conducted at the residences of 30 employees of the media group across Kerala, where mobile phones, laptops and gadgets were seized.
Speaking to The New Indian, the chairman of Marunadan Malayali, Shojan Skariah, said that the case is fabricated and that there is an error in the judgement. He said they are hopeful that the case will be heard in the apex court and that the arrest warrant will be stayed.
“This case is registered as an SC/ST atrocity case. This never happened in the video. He just raised certain allegations against the MLA. But the court has seen something other than the criticism. They considered this criticism a caste atrocity, one that was not true,” Shojan Skariah said.
“He is the managing director of the media and there are 40 employees across the state. Why are the police targeting the employees of the group by raiding their houses and questioning them? Yesterday night, they seized the computers, CPU and all other gadgets in the office. This is unacceptable and unfair,” Shojan Skariah told The New Indian.
The Special Judge for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Honey M Varghese, found the allegations made against Sreenijan to be derogatory and insulting.
At the same time, massive support is pouring in from various quarters on social media, including senior Congress and BJP leaders and activists for journalist Shajan Skariah. They feel Shajan Skariah is a victim of selective targeting by the government for raising critical questions.
