Delhi police raid The Wire office and homes of its editors over retracted Meta reports
New Delhi, October 31, 2022 — Indian authorities must stop harassing employees of the news website The Wire and let them work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On Monday, officials with the Delhi police crime branch searched the New Delhi office of The Wire and the residences of editors Siddharth Varadarajan, M.K….
In India’s hardest-hit newsroom, surveilled reporters fear for their families and future journalists
M.K. Venu, a founding editor at India’s independent non-profit news site The Wire, says he has become used to having his phone tapped in the course of his career. But that didn’t diminish his shock last year when he learned that he, along with at least five others from The Wire, were among those listed…
Kashmir police threaten investigations into The Wire news website
Washington, D.C., July 6, 2021– Police in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir should cease harassing journalist Siddharth Varadarajan and The Wire, and allow journalists to report freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 3, the police headquarters of the Kashmir zone issued a legal notice to Varadarajan, editor-in-chief of the independent news website…
Indian police arrest, investigate journalists covering farmers’ protests
New Delhi, February 1, 2021 – Indian authorities must immediately release journalist Mandeep Punia and refrain from detaining and investigating members of the press covering protests, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On the evening of January 30, Delhi police detained Mandeep Punia, a contributor to The Caravan magazine and Junputh news website, and…
Uttar Pradesh starts criminal probe into The Wire editor for alleged ‘discord’ during COVID-19 lockdown
New Delhi, April 2, 2020—Police in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh should immediately withdraw criminal complaints against Siddharth Vardarajan, editor of news website The Wire, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The police opened a criminal investigation into Vardarajan on accusations of spreading discord, enmity, and rumors during the COVID-19 lockdown, according to…
Indian authorities must bring killers of Shujaat Bukhari to justice
New Delhi, June 14, 2018–Indian authorities must ensure that there is a thorough and credible investigation into the murder of Shujaat Bukhari, founder and editor of the English-language daily Rising Kashmir, and bring the killers to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Indian court bars The Wire from publishing stories on businessman Jay Shah
New Delhi, October 24, 2017– The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned a decision by India’s judiciary to proceed with a criminal defamation complaint against The Wire and issue an injunction preventing the news website from reporting about Jay Shah, the son of the ruling BJP party’s president Amit Shah, while the defamation case is…
In India, online campaign seeks to free press from risk of criminal defamation
An online campaign to decriminalize defamation in India is being led by a member of the country’s main opposition party. “Criminal defamation can lead to people being put in jail for something they have said publicly. This law needs to be replaced by a modern, progressive law,” reads the statement on the campaign website.
India’s independent journalism in doubt in election year
With the dawn of the new year, India is looking ahead to a national election in May. Recent developments raise questions about the quality and quantity of independent news coverage of the polls as local media come under greater political influence.