LUCKNOW/RAIPUR: In what could be called a case of one-upmanship in khaki, a Chhattisgarh police team that had arrived with an arrest warrant at the doorstep of a TV journalist at Indirapuram in Ghaziabad on Tuesday, had to hang around empty-handed as its UP counterparts took the journalist away.
The attempt to arrest was based on an FIR against him for airing a doctored video clip of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s comments. Rahul’s statement on the attack on his Wayanad office was intentionally or otherwise mixed up with the Udaipur killing in the telecast. The TV channel has since apologized and attributed it to “human error”.
The day’s drama began around 5.30 am when Zee TV anchor Rohit Ranjan spotted the Chhattisgarh police team outside his residence. He reportedly went to the bathroom and tweeted, “Chhattisgarh police are standing outside my house to arrest me without informing the local police, is it legal?” He also tagged Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Ghaziabad SSP and ADG zone Luckow.
In response to Ranjan’s tweet, Chhattisgarh police said: “There is no such rule to inform. A police team has shown you the court’s warrant of arrest. You should cooperate, join in the investigation and put your defence in court.”
Shortly thereafter, a Ghaziabad police team arrived at the spot and did not let the visiting police to arrest Ranjan. Later, the Noida police came in and took him away saying he is wanted in a case in Noida.
The Chhattisgarh Police is now exploring legal avenues.