RAIPUR: The outlawed Maoists issued a statement criticising the arrest of a senior journalist Vinod Verma citing that the way the scribe was taken into custody by Chhattisgarh police during the wee hours reminds of "Emergency Days".
"It appears the state government is exasperated following the expose of evil deeds of a minister of the Raman cabinet," said the statement issued by the south sub-zonal bureau of CPI (Maoist).
Verma, who earlier worked as BBC Hindi service correspondent and is a member of Editors Guild of India is facing the allegation of extortion and blackmailing the state minister using a sex tape.
A Raipur court last Tuesday remanded Verma to 14-day judicial custody. He was arrested by Chhattisgarh police from his Ghaziabad residence in connection with the sex tape case after Prakash Bajaj, who is associated with BJP IT cell, lodged a complaint with Pandri police station a previous week. He was brought to Chhattisgarh on transit remand. Verma's counsel will move a bail application in the Raipur court on Monday.
The BJP called the incriminating CD was "fake" and lodged an FIR both against the state Congress chief Bhupesh Baghel and Verma at Raipur civil lines thana.
The Raman Singh government alleging the sex CD case as political criminal conspiracy decided to hand over the case to the CBI.