New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal journalist Sanjay Rana, who was arrested for questioning state minister Gulab Devi for secondary education at an event held on March 12, got bail after 30 hours of his arrest by police.
The FIR was filed by leader Shubham Raghav of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha against him. According to Article 14, the lawyer who appeared on his behalf to secure his bail was his editor, Dharmendra Singh.
In UP's Sambhal, Sanjay Rana, a reporter with a Youtube channel confronted UP govt MoS Gulab Devi with promises of development as against reality at a function on March 11. An FIR was registered and Rana was arrested based on the complaint of genel sec of BJYM. pic.twitter.com/IwkphNjX8T
— Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) March 13, 2023
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In the event held on March 11, the journalist Rana can be seen questioning the minister, “Before the elections, you had promised all of us, take an oath in the temple, that this village Budh Nagar Khandwa, where the event was taking place is yours, that everyone here is your adopted child. You had told the village elders, ‘Tell me what work you need to be done, and I will do it.’ You also said that if you win the elections, you would return to this village. But despite that, you never came back.”
He added, “In Buddh Nagar, there is no baarat ghar. Neither has any government toilet been built. You had said you would pave the road from the temple to here [pointing outside the event space]. Even now, the road is so kaccha, even a bike can’t comfortably go on it. You had also specifically said that you will build a boundary wall around the village temple. No work has begun on that. Villagers tried to build pressure on these issues, but you never listened to them. What have you got to say about this?”
Before Dev’s response to the question a woman behind the camera was seen saying that Rana is not just asking the question but he has a point. Then Devi replied, “Why don’t you ask me by when I will get all this work done?”
After that, Rana replied to the woman by asking how they came to know about the issue people were facing if she would not listen to them. The woman questioned crooned, “Who all agree with him?” Most of the people who were present there agreed and said yes, the promises were not fulfilled.
In reply to this Devi said, “I have been watching you, I recognised what you’re doing. What you have said is correct. But the time [probably referring to her time as MLA] is not done yet.”
After getting arrested, Rana stood by his question and said that he sought permission and then questioned her, “I have not done anything wrong,” he said. “If someone is making false statements about the work they have done, shouldn’t you question it?”
This is Sanjay Rana after the arrest. Not ready to concede an inch of his courage against the might of the state. pic.twitter.com/Ak4mVgPyn5
— Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) March 13, 2023
Samajwadi party tweeted on Rana’s arrest and questioned the ruling party BJP, “If this isn’t an undeclared emergency by the BJP government, what is?” The BJP only wants journalists who suck up to it. Is asking questions illegal now?”
