Prakaksh Tripathi

Journalist

Chhattisgarh

HRDA has issued an urgent appeal to the National Human Rights Commission of India on April 25, 2020 regarding the intimidation and harassment of Mr. Prakaksh Tripathi, a freelance journalist, over his social media posts by councilors of Manendragarh. 

On April 16, 2020 Mr. Tripathi received a notice from the Manendrgarh Police Station over his Facebook post based on a complaint by local councilors. The notice, issued under Section 91 of CrPC, was for his post dated April 15,2020 regarding the sale of fake and substandard sanitisers by municipal councilors to poor people in Chirmiri and Manendragarh areas of Koriya district. The notice inadequately referred to the Supreme Court order in WP 468/2020 (wrongly mentioned as 568/2020) and warned him of criminal procedure under Sections 188, 505(1) (b) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and Sections 51 and 54 of Disaster Management Act if he failed to reach the police station. In lieu of the summon, Mr. Tripathi visited the Manendragadh police station on April 17, 2020 and shared the evidence behind his Facebook post with police officials. No case was registered against him, while Sub Inspector Mr. Vijay Singh asked him to lie low on social media. 

On April 15, 2020, the day the councilors filed a complaint against Mr. Tripathi, Vice President of Manendragarh Municipality Council Mr. Krishna Murari Tiwari convened a meeting of councilors and gathered data on and around Mr. Tripathi’s post. They filed another complaint against him at Manendragarh Police Station on April 20, 2020, but no FIR was registered. Mr. Tiwari also threatened to register an FIR against one of Mr. Tripathi’s acquaintances who shared his post.