The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the global organisation representing over 500,000 journalists worldwide, today condemned the harassment of senior journalist Anand Swaroop Verma by the Central Bureau of Investigation in India.
"Harassment of journalists for their truth telling represents a curtailment of press freedom that must be resisted," said IFJ President Christopher Warren.
According to information received by the IFJ, Anand Swaroop Verma, noted writer and editor of the magazine Samkaleen Teesari Dunia , is being harassed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the murder of Mahendra Singh, a Member of the Legislative Assembly from Jharkhand who was killed in broad daylight on 16 January 2005 while he was addressing a meeting in his constituency in Giridih.
The IFJ has expressed concern that the harassment of Mr Verma could be related to the fact that he is exceptionally active and vocal in India on questions of democracy in Nepal. Mr Verma has also been a member of the international team of observers that supervised the parliamentary elections in Nepal in 1994.
"Special investigating agencies have acquired a tendency to target and harass people known and associated with the victims in order to take away the focus from the "crime" and smoke- screen the real culprit," said Warren, demanding the proper and impartial functioning of the prime investigating agencies.
In January, the CBI officials started visiting Verma, editor of the esteemed magazine Samkaleen Teesari Dunia , at his residence and enquiring about the phone-calls allegedly made to him from the mobile phone of the slain MLA after his murder. However, the CBI is refusing to disclose the duration and details of the said phone-calls.
Further, the investigating officers sent twice by the Superintendent of Police of CBI, Lucknow to Mr Verma’s residence told him that but for his journalistic status, they would have arrested him first and then carried out interrogation supposedly based on the evidence’ against him in this case.
The IFJ has received information that the complaint filed by the widow of the slain MLA naming Deepak Verma the Superintendent of Police of Giridih and BJP MLA Ravindra Rai, for conspiring to kill her husband, is yet to be registered as a First Information Report.
The investigation process is disturbing, with a clear intention of implicating Mr Anand Swaroop Verma under the cover of investigation.
"We urge the CBI to refrain from harassing journalists, and carry out the investigation in a fair and impartial manner," said Warren.
